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33  WEST  MAIN  S'.iV'T 

WEBSTER, NY    I4S80 

(7t6)  872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMM 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  at  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


n 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


D 


Couverture  endommagde 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculde 


r     I    Cover  title  missing/ 


D 
D 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  inic  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  blacit)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


□    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


D 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  ie  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutdes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsqua  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6td  filmdes. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m6thode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 

□    Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag6es 

□    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellicuides 

I — 1    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 


[3' 


Pages  ddcolordes,  tachetdes  ou  piqudes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ddtachdes 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


□    Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Quality  indgale  de  I'impression 

I      I    Includes  supplementary  material/ 


D 
D 


Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  dt6  filmies  d  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meiiieure  image  possible. 


Th 
to 


Th 
po 
of 
fill 


Or 
be 
th( 
sic 
oti 
fin 
sic 
or 


Th 
sh 
Til 
wl 

Ml 
dil 
en 
be 
rig 
rei 
m< 


D 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppldmentaires; 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmd  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  cidessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


v/ 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

D.  B.  Weldon  Library 
University  of  Western  Ontario 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  origmal  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grAco  A  la 
g4nArosit6  de: 

D.  B.  Weldon  Library 
University  of  Western  Ontario 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  it*  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin.  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  netteti  de  l'exemplaire  filmA,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimte  sont  filmAs  en  commen^ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmis  en  commen^ant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  —^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END  "), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaTtra  sur  la 
derniAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — '^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  ie 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  Jt 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  carles,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  il  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

'\y<'  -kf'k^' 


"  , »  .    n    ^ 


UNIvrRSITV  OF 
WtSTLRN  ONTARIO 


LIBRARY 

V 


c  t 


.*,/,;-.. 


^pv^WWfwl*!***  "'***"  "WW"'*'  ■■ 


U.  W.  O:  LIBRA^v 


XOI^KS    OK    A    1MvMI 


H!(t\l 


CHICAGO  TO  VICTORIA 


V.\\(  (tlVKi;-    l-I.  AMI, 


AND    UE'I'UHN. 


1884. 


I'KIN'iI«;i)      H'OK'      I'K*1\   .V'JM<;     CIKCTIiA'I'lON. 


(UK  .\(;<) 

l.'AM).   MiNAI.I.V  .\:  CO..  I'lMNI'KKs  AM)  KNUlf.W  i;i{8. 
1  8  H  .-.. 


UWtWPW? 


i 


NOTES    OF   A   TRIP 


KKOM 


CHICAGO  TO  VICTORIA 


VAXlorVKKS   ISLAND. 


AND    RETURN. 


1884. 


PUIN'rp;i>     KOIf     l*RIV>V'ri<:     CIRCTII^iATION. 


("1II(A(}<): 
KANI).  McNALLY  &  CO..  I'HlNTKU.s  AND  ENGUAVKUS. 

188  5. 


A  large  poitioq  of  this  itiqerary  has  appeared  iq  the  "Newcastle 
Weeklij  Cfiroqicle,"  of  Newcastle-upoq-Tyne,  England  Mr.  James 
Hay,  of  Southsea,  had  previously  giveq  selections  fronq  it  \r\  a  paper 
read   by   him  before  the  Literary  aqd  Scientific  Society  of   Portsmouth, 

England 

It  IS  ^]ere   printed   m   lull  as  originally  written. 


681,8 


Gljicttgo  to  Victoritt,  Vaijcouver's  Islarid, 


ANO    RtCTURN. 


Thursday,  July  24,  1884,  we  leave  Chicago  at  1  v.  m.,  via  the 
Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad.  We  have  a  drawing-room  in  a  beautifid 
and  convenient  bufli'et  sleeping  cur.  We  have  supper  in  the  superb 
dining  car  "Charlton,'"  said  to  he  the  largest  ear  ever  built.  In  this 
spacious  and  beautiful  car,  with  its  large  windows,  large  tables,  roomy 
seats,  excellent  and  attentive  waiters,  and  generous  bill  of  fare,  we 
have  all  the  luxuries  and  comforts  of  a  first-class  hotel.  Flowers  on 
all  the  tables  and  on  other  points  of  vantage  add  beauty  ami  fragrance 
to  that  which  was  already  very  beautiful.  It  is  a  pretty  custom  on  the 
dining  cars  on  this  road  for  the  waiters  to  adorn  the  patrons  with 
button-hole  bouquets.  On  this  particular  car,  these  bouquets  were 
larger  than  on  the  other  dining  cars.  In  reply  to  an  in(|uiry,  a  polite 
waiter  laughingly  explained  that  the  bouipiets  were  made  large  to 
correspond  with  the  si/e  of  the  ear,  so  that  not  only  the  car  should 
be  the  largest  of  its  kind  but  the  boiujuets  likewise. 

It  was  one  of  Illinois'  hottest  days,  sultry  to  the  extreme  point  of 
endurance.  Corn  is  the  leading  product  of  the  country  through  which 
our  route  lay,  and  the  corn  crop  looked  promising.  Here  and  there 
it  hud  been  bent  down  considerably  by  heavy  showers  of  rain.  Much 
interest  was  felt  in  the  corn  crop  this  year,  because  for  the  preced- 
ing two  years  corn  in  Illinois  had  not  conn^  up  to  the  expected  pro- 
lific yield.  A  rainstorm  came  on  during  the  afternoon,  and  lasted, 
without  much  intermissio.i,  all  night.  It  did  not  make  it  perceptibly 
cooler,  and  sleep  became  almost  an  impossil)ility.  While,  however, 
it  was  not  what  might  have  been  hoped,  a  temporary  comfort  to 
travelers,  it  luckily  did  not  succeed  in  doing  permanent  damage  to 

the  corn. 

Friday,  July  25th.  We  arrive  in  Kansas  City  at  8:35  a.  m.  The 
Union  Depot,  used  by  all  the  railroads,  oieve.i  In  number,  centring 
in  this  city,  is  on  the  flats  below  the  city.     These  flats  are  lowlands 


yOTES  OF  A  Tit  1 1* 

wliicli  sprpiid  out  toward  tlie  Misisouri  and  Kaw  rivers  and  the  open 
country  lyinjf  west.  Tin;  Kiiw  river  empties  into  the  Missouri  a  mile 
or  two  above  Kansas  City.     Beyond  the  iunction  of  these  two  rivers 

ml  %i  J 

lies  Wyandotte,  pictures(|uely  spread  over  risinu;  yronnd.  Kansas 
City  proper  is  a  city  set  on  a  very  liij>h  hill.  It  is  also  a  city  which 
has  a  hi^h  opinion  nf  itself.  It  is  the  correct  thiiifr  to  think  and 
si)eak  hiyhly  of  Kansas  ('itv  as  loiiji  as  vou  remain  in  it,  and  it  is 
safe  to  do  so,  and  entirely  satisfactory  to  the  average  citi/en.  It 
is  simply  just,  not  to  seriously  modify  that  opinion  on  second 
thoii<>hts,  after  hiddiiifj^  j;food-l»ye  to  this  most  proj^-ressive  of  Missouri 
cities.  It  has  all  the  dash  of  Chicaiio,  and  has  the  ainhitjon  to 
believe  that  it  will  rival  St.  I.ouis  in  population.  It  now  nnnilx'rs 
about  100,000.  The  Hats  present  a  busy  scene  of  elevators,  pork- 
packing  and  other  establishments;  passenger  depot,  freight  dep(U8 
and  yards;  and  tiie  numerous  railroad  tracks  radiating  in  all  direc- 
tions,— to  Mexico,  Califdrnia,  Oregon,  Manitoba;  to  tlu^  frozen  North, 
the  sunny  South,  the  Pacilie  slope,  the  .Vtlantic  seaboard  and  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico. 

We  get  rooms  at  the  Centropolis  Hotel,  and  (hive  n/und  the 
city.  The  residence  portion  is  constantly  im])roving,  and  is  very  fine. 
Some  of  the  locations  present  commanding  views  of  a  pleasant  laiul. 
Fine  residences  are  numerous,  evidencing  widely  ditlused  wealth  and 
good  taste  and  aspirations  alter  comfort.  From  an  elevated  point,  in 
the  outskirts  of  the  city,  we  get  extensive  views  in  all  directions.  We 
have  the  Missouri  in  sight  above  and  below  the  city  ;  the  flats,  the 
Kaw,  Wyandotte;  the  flat,  wooded  lowlamls  across  the  Missouri; 
Kansas  City,  on  tlu;  hills;  and  the  rolling,  liilly  i-ountry  stretching 
back  from  the  city  t<j  West|)ort  and  beyond, — scenes  which  leave  an 
inelVac'">ble  impression.  On  former  visits,  I  availed  myself  of  this 
advantageous  j)oint  of  view,  and  I  return  to  it  always  with  pleasure. 

Kansas  City  was  once,  and  that,  too,  within  the  nu'inory  of  young 
peo])le,  Westport  Landing,  and  nothing  more.  Now  Westport  is 
a  not  very  important  suburb  of  Kansas  City,  In  the  irony  of  fate  the 
same  result  has  befallen  nniny  other  ambitious  places  in  this  country. 
Thus,  Monten'y,  in  California,  now  a  fishing  places  and  a  bathing  and 
pleasure  resort,  and  nothing  more,  was  once  expected  to  become 
what  San  Francisco  has  become.  N(;w  Buffalo,  Indiana,  and  Michi- 
gan City,  Indiana,  both  on  Lake  Michigan,  each  expected  to  \w.  the 
great  city  in  the  West,  which  Chicago  has  become.  Time  disap- 
points many  expectations.     The  heat  was  intense  to-day. 

Saturday,  July  26th.     We  leave  Kansas  City  at  n:.'")0  a.  m.,  via  the 


1 


FROM  (ir/CAnO  TO   VrCTOlilA. 


Atcliisnn,  Topt'ka  &  Santa  Vr  liailmad.  Tin*  day  is  insiiffcniMy  hot. 
To  liawronct',  und  on  to  TojH'ka,  wo  nui  for  lh<!  most  part  close  to 
the  Kaw  riv«'r.  It  is  very  full,  fn mi  n  (MMit  rains.  Corn  and  all 
crops  arc  lookinj;  splendid.  F'arnicrs  can  not  <>^t't  help  enonjrii  to  cut 
and  store  tlicir  crops,  anil  it  is  even  said  that  s<wue  of  theni,  rath(»r 
than  leave  the  wheat  standing  which  they  are  unai)lc  to  handle,  are 
oflerinjr  it  free  to  any  one  who  will  cut  it  'id  take  it  away.  This  was 
probably  only  a  loud  way  of  reporlintr  the  prolific  harvest;  but  the 
assertion  was  nmdc  that  it  was  an  actual  fai't.  I  accepted  it,  how- 
ever, as  an  exatrjrerated  nictliod  of  statement  adopted  by  some  creat- 
ure endowed  with  an  Oriental  iitiajrination  and  j;ift  of  sp(M>cli.  Such 
crops  have  not  been  reaped  in  Kansas  for  six  years  past.  ( 'onse- 
(jue  iitly  everybody  is  e.\ullant,  K  uisas  is  "  boominjf."  and  prices  of 
land  are  ffoiuj;  up.  One  result  will  be  that  these  money -niak inn- 
Kansas  farmers  will  devote  part  of  their  surplus  earnings  to  a  pleas- 
ure tri|)  Kast,  to  visit  their  old  homesteads  from  which  they  emi- 
jrrated,  and  to  spread  amonjy  their  old  friends  and  neijilibors  the 
glad  tidings  of  fruitful  Kansas,  and,  by  their  glov  Mig  reports,  iidlu- 
ence  anotlwi'  inllux  of  immigration. 

Nominally,  Kansas  still  contirnies  to  be  a  prohibition  State.  In 
reality,  however,  it  is  nothing  of  the  kind.  Prohibition  no  morc^ 
piohibits  here  than  it  does  in  other  .'•^tates,  in  spite  of  an  ex-(ioverMor 
of  Kansas  to  the  contrary,  "who,"  said  one  of  my  inl'ormants,  an 
indignant  He|)ublican,  "  was  the  lirst  Repul)lican  candidate  for  (Jov- 
ernor  who  lost  his  party  the  State,  and  was  deservedly  'snowed 
under'  by  thousands  of  adverse  voters."  As  it  is  the  last  day  of 
the  week,  cases  of  champagne  and  <'ar-loads  of  beer  are  arriving  and 
being  unloade<l  and  deliverivl  at  all  stations.  The  railway  company 
takes  the  side  of  saf(^ty,  as  it  usually  does  in  all  cases  of  doubt,  and 
declin(!s  to  carry  this  traffic.  The  e,\|)iess  compani(!S,  therefore,  have 
a  monopoly  of  it.  These  illegal  consignments  arrive,  usually,  on 
Saturday  and  Siniday. 

It  appears  to  l)e  the  expericMice  that  prohibition  condenses  the 
drinking  custom  to  fractions  of  time,  forces  it  to  special  days,  and 
impels  to  periodical  heavy  drinking,  instead  of  leaving  the  driid<er 
free  to  spread  his  drinking  tliiidy  over  every  day,  and  imperceptibly 
attain  and  retain  habits  of  strict  moderation.  I  have  known  it  to 
happen  in  Mritish  cities  in  which  a  Sunday  li(|uor  law  existed,  that 
tlu^  poor  man,  who  would  otherwise  have  been  conterst  with  a  glass 
in  moderation  on  Sunday,  laid  in  a  stock,  in  self-defense,  on  Saturday 
night,  which  he  used  before  Monday  morning,  just  because  he  had  it 


6  yOTBS  (th'  A   Tliir 

liHiidv.  .ModcrHtf  tlrii'kcrs  are  tlins  8<iii))>tirn<'s  mH<i"  iiiiiin"lorat«» 
tlriiikfis  hy  unwise  li-^rislutioii,  hruufrlit  iilioiit  hy  |)<)|tiilaiify-liuiiters, 
and  well-nieaniii;;  l>\it  weaU-inindcd  people  wlio  l<>ave  liiiniini  nature 
out  of  llieir  count.  Such  is  tlie  perversity  of  ruituie  that  it  refuses  to 
III'  put  HI  prohibition  moulds  or  other  inventions  of  strait-jacket 
reformers.  At  Topeka,  the  capital  of  Kan^as,  where  we  dine,  I  am 
tctld  thill  I  "an  \rv\  waiion  loads  nf  hccr,  etc,  over  the  way.  .\  resi- 
dent of  Kansas  City  interpolates,  that  Kansas  ("ity,  which  is  a  Demo- 
cratic, non-prohiliitidii  eitv  in  the  Democratic!  State  of  .Mis-ouri, 
permits  no  diinkini;-  on  Sunday,  and  on  that  day  the  curiou.^  si<;ht 
can  he  witnis>ed  of  citi/,(;n8  of  KiinsasCily,  Missouri,  jfoiiijf  over  to 
the  prohil)ition  State  of  Kansas  to  do  their  liipior-drinkinir. 

The  leader  in  this  prohiliition  movement  ajpears  to  lie  in  liad 
odor  outside  the  cli(jU(^  which  follows  him  ;  and  but  one  opinion 
about  him  was  expressed  to  me,  that  he  was  a  mere  self-seeking 
ptilitician  aspiiinu:  to  power  and  oflice.  \'  ho  had  mistaken  his  way  ; 
an<l  that,  if  he  thouirht  any  other  path  than  prtdiibition  la\  open  to 
him  to  power  and  pelf  ;md  positinn,  Iw  would  walk  therein,  it  has 
iilreaily  been  said  that  he  lost  Ins  parly  the  .St  ite;  and  at  a  lattjr  date 
iie  lost  the  same  pa'ty  his  country.  \\i'  lost  the  iJepublican  parly  the 
presidency  of  the  I'nitcMl  States  by  ruiinin<i-  on  a  Prohibition  ticket 
for  ['resident,  and  drawinjr  away  just  enou'^h  votes  fidni  the  Repub- 
lican parly  to  defeat  the  Kepublican  candi(hite  and  elect  the  DiMUo- 
cratic  one.  .Vufrry  Kepublicans  louiully  declare,  that  f<ir  this  he  is  to 
have  Denvicratic  ri'watd,  or,  at  any  rate,  that  by  his  candidacy  lie  has 
advertised  himself  so  extensively  that  he  will  be  in  demand  as  a 
lecturer  on  total  abstinence,  and  ijather  ducats  jralure.  His  cainli- 
dacy  was  widely  distrusted,  the  Hepidilican  orjians  opened  vials  of 
political  wrath  upon  him,  and  the  orjrans  of  all  parties  e.xposed 
relenth'sslv   to   view  the  sores  of  his  social   life,  and   he  was  burnt   in 


dH. 


f. 


"V  in   a   lew   plact'S 


Hi 


s   election   crv, 


Vot 


e  as  you   pray. 


had 


the  taiiii  .li  cant  in  it  ;   he  stood  as  much  chance  oi'  beini>'  elected   to 


the  presidency  as   he  did  of  1 


leiriu'  elected   to    I  ii' 


iiaoacv,  am 


1   it 


IS 


only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  knew  this  just  as   well  as  every- 
body idse  did. 

After  passinjr  an  uncoinfortably  hot  day,  we  arrived  at  Newton, 
Kansas,  at  0:"-.*n  v.  m.  Ladies  on  the  train,  and  who  w<'re  from  Louisi- 
ana, said  that  it  was  hotter  than  in  Louisiana.  They  lookeil  forward 
with  apprehension  to  a  hot  nijiht  in  the  sleepini^  car,  and  envied  us 
our  stop  over  at  nij^ht  at  Newton.  But  it  was  so  hot  that  nijrht 
in    Xewt<in,  that  we    were    hardly  disposed  to  admit  that  we  could 


I 


I 
f 


FiioM  ciiicMK)  fi)  vicnmiA 


ijudcriito 

limitcrs, 

II  iiatun^ 

i'luM's  to 

lit -jacket 

lie,  I    am 

A  r«'wi- 

}i  Dtiiio- 

Misxiuri, 

(lu.^  sijjlit 

r    over    to 

)(>    ill   1)11(1 

(>    (ipiiiioii 

l-stckiiig 

Ills  way  ; 

\    (>|)fll     to 

II.      It    lias 
lattM-  (late 
I  party  tho 
tioM   ticket 
he  Kepiil)- 
tlie  Deino- 
his  lie  is  to 
laey  he  has 
iiiMiid   as  a 
His  caiiili- 
ed   vials  ot" 
RS  ex|)<)sed 
IS  liiinit   ill 
])iay,"'  liad 
ch'cted   to 
,-,  ami  it  is 
1  as  overy- 

it  Newton, 
'rom  Louisi- 
ced  fo'ward 
d  envied  iis 
that  night 
it  we  could 


i 


have  had  a  more  sultry  experience  in  a  sleepinj;  car.  Our  phiii, 
however,  was,  as  much  as  possible,  to  stop  over  at  niirht,  uiid  travel 
in  the  day  time,  so  as  to  nee  all  that  we  ei>uld  of  the  cnuiitry. 

Sunday,  July  'JI  til.      We   leave   Newton   at  i  :)!((  a.  .m.,  and   liegin 
to-day  to  renew  ac<|uaintanc)!  with  prairie  ilnjr  villages.      Fine  cntps 


continue  to  come  into  view,  and  we  look  out  at  intervals  on  vast 
hertis  of  cattle  and  horses.  We  arrive  at  Dodge  City  at  •^:40  i".  M., 
and  depart  from  there  at  1:45  i*.  M.  This  iiicredihle  feat  was 
made  possible  by  the  change  of  meridian  time  taking  etl'ect  westward 
at  this  point.  We  turn  our  watches  back  one  hour,  and  indulge  in 
heterodox  exjilaiiations  of  the   way  in  wiiich  the    Prophet  Isaiah  of 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


old  manipulated  llie  dial  of  Aha/.  Turiiiiijf  hack  time  is  not  so 
much  of  a  mirach?  in  oiir  day  as  in  that  of  He/t'kiah. 

At  J)o<lf^e  an  immense  herd  of  catth>  is  fording  the  Arknnsas.  The 
pictures{|ue  cow-hoy  assists  in  this  crossinof.  We  have  seen  him 
several  times  as  we  have  come  aloiiy.  ]ri  Doiluc  we  see  him  ;  and 
we  also  see  his  ])onies,  many  in  nund)er,  tie<l  up  to  posts  in  the 
street,  while  he  iiriirates  his  constitutionally  thirsty  soul  in  some 
drinkinjr  saloon.  l)istanc»^  lends  enchantment  to  the  view  when  the 
cow-l)oy  is  th(^  ohjeet  of  vision.  He  looks  not  amiss  afar  off  on 
horseback,  ilistance  softenini;  the  outline  of  his  fi<;iire,  and  effectually 
concealinir  tiie  outlines  of  his  face  :  near  at  hand  he  is  not  hy  any 
means  allurinfr.  It  does  not  occur  to  you  that  it  is  desirable  to  culti- 
vate hi>  acquaintance,  or  to  think  of  him  as  intellectual.  If  he 
drops  into  litei-ature,  it  is  that  of  yellow  covers  and  umitteraMe  con- 
tents. His  tone  is  loud  ;  his  lanjruajre  is  plain,  hut  not  particularly 
edifviny,  and  usually  consists  larj^ely  (»f  selections  at  random  from 
IIj  y  Writ,  not  in  that  order,  noi'  of  that  kind,  which  is  pleasinij  to 
ears  polite  or  pious,  lie  rides  fast,  drinks  fast,  lives  fast,  and  it 
sometimes  tails  to  him  to  die  fast.  He  is  doomeil  to  disappear  like 
the  hulValo  j.nd  th<'  Indian.  Meantime,  red-sliiried  or  red-helted, 
armed,  and  mounted  on  a  licet  steed,  he  is  not  an  uidovely  streak  of 
color  on  the  <listant  hori/on.  He  Ix'comes  worse  than  comniDiiplace, 
and  has  a  touch  of  somethiuir  more  dano-crous  than  disaureeal)le,  as 
he  comes  chtscr. 

In  Dodge  recently  an  ex-l  iiited  States  nutishal  went  guiniinjj 
for  a  I'nited  States  marshal.  'These  two  distin<ruished  citizens — one 
an  "active  and  intelligent"  ollirial,  and  the  other  an  "active  and 
intelligent"  ex-oHicial — were  looking  for  each  otlwr  (which  is,  I 
believe,  the  correct  way  of  expressing  it),  and  opened  lire  on  sighting 
each  ot'ier,  and  one  fell.  We  ga/ed  from  the  train  lui  tli(>  historic 
spot  of  tliis  encounter,  ^'erdict  of  good  citi/ens  of  I  )odge  :  '"Pity 
that  both  had  not  fallen  in  the  fray  :  I  )odge  could  well  luixc  spared 
l)oth." 

The  Arkansas  river  has  i)een  alongside  for  some  distance,  having 
been  first  noticed  at  Great  Bend,  so  t'alled  from  the  bend  in  the  river. 
It  remains  in  sight  the  greater  part  of  the  way  until  Pueblo  is 
reached,  wliMc  we  cross  it  twice,  having  pre\ionsly  crossed  it  twice, 
once  at  Graiuida.  and  oiu-e  about  twenty  miles  wt»st  of  J>a  .lunta.  At 
Cimarron,  we  come  upon  the  scene  of  a  cycloiu'  of  last  night.  The 
houses  here  are  chiefly  of  the  adobe  style  of  architecture,  svitli  varia- 
tions.    They  have  been  unroofed  and  much  damaged,  but  fortunately 


■5 


FnO.U  cmcAdO  TO  VfCTOIilA.  9 

arc  of  an  order  which   can  easily,  rapidly  ami  clieaply  be   repaired, 
or  entirely  reconstructed. 

Within  the  memory  of  very  young  men,  these  vast  prairies  over 
which  we  have  passed  the  last  two  days  were  gra/in<r  gfrounds  of 
hnfValo,  ami  were  danifcrous  from  Indians  :  now  they  teem  with  rich 
products,  and  are  rapidly  beconiin<r  populous  with  a  race  who  make 
the  school-house  the  hiiju-est  and  most  prominent  landmark  in  cheir 
pro<;ress  west.  We  arrive  at  f.a  Junta  at  '.):  K»  r.  m.  Here  one 
line  of  railroad  diverges  to  New  Mexico,  Mexico,  Arizona  and  Cali- 
fornia, and  the  other  continiu^s  on  to  Pueblo  and  I  )enver,  there  to 
connect  with  lines  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

Monday,  July  "^Sth.  We  leave  La  Junta  at  7:40  a.  m.  There  is 
nothimi;  hill-  al)out  it  but  its  school-house,  which  is  most  crerlitable  to 
it.  The  abode  of  learning  was  large,  substantially  built,  and  w<dl 
located.  It  faced  the;  railroad  station,  of  which  our  hotel  was  a  part, 
and  was  a  pleasant  ol)ject  of  contemplation  from  our  windows. 
Along  the  strt'et  opposite,  and  on  tlie  other  side  of  the  railroad  track, 
in  the  early  morning,  there  straggled  along,  in  an  unctMtain  atid  any- 
thing but  straightforward  manner,  a  diind<en  loafer,  who  appeared  to 
be  makiiie-  himself  unpleasant  to  the  few  peoi)le  who  were  abroad  at 
that  hour.  Tacking  eccentrically,  he  propelled  iiimself  into  a  meat 
market,  which  is  the  Western  descriptive  lor  butchers  slio|».  There 
must  have  been  some  sudchMi  unpleasantness;  for  we  speetlily  saw 
him  thrown  out  on  tlu;  sidewalk  by  the  proprietor  of  the  nnirki't, 
who,  after  performing  this  feat,  ret nrni'd  to  his  store  and  his  work. 
The  lojifer  pi(d<ed  himself  up  and  went  on  his  way,  meeting  two 
pedestrians,  to  whom  he  explained  his  unpremeditat»>d  and  lightning 
exit  from  the  m(>at  nnirket;  l)ut  they  did  not  appear  to  sympaihi/e  in 
his  view  of  the  case. 

Soon,  on  our  journey  westward  fnim  La  .Junta,  the  Spanish  Peaks, 
and  Pike's  Peak,  and  the  greai  lange  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  come 
in  sight.  Some  idea  of  this  innnense  range  can  be  attained  by  con- 
sidering that  its  area  in  the  United  States  is  very  nearly  eleven  times 
that  of  Gr(>at  Britain.  We  run  alongside  of  it  and  in  its  f  lot-hills  all 
the  way  from  Pueblo  to  Denvei'.  TIk'Sc  two  cities  appear  to  have 
remained  about  slationarv  in  population  for  the  last  two  years.  We 
ga/e  on  stiow-capped  mountains,  catch  glimpses  of  Colorado  Springs, 
t!ie  Garden  of  the  Gods  and  Monument  Park:  and  at  1  :  ■-'(•  i*.  m. 
lunch  at  the  divide,  now  called  I'almer  Lake;  elevation,  'i  ,'i'-t]  feet  ; 
distance  from  Denver,  ')'i  miles. 

Fn   M    this  elevateil   point,  the  water   flows  in  o])p<jsite   directions, 


10 


yoTES  OF  A  rnir 


y 


FROM  ('inCA<;o  TO    VICTORIA. 


11 


NOT  BIS  OF  A  TRIP 


nortliwjird  to  the  Platte,  a  tributary  of  tlie  Missouri,  and  southward 
to  the  Arkansas.  It  is  the  point  of  division  on  the  watershed,  and 
took  its  oh!  name  from  that.  A  beautiful  little  lake  adorns  this 
hei<;lit,  and  from  its  midst  a  fountain  plays  unceasingly.  Its  shores 
are  kept  in  good  order,  and  spacious  j)leasure  grounds  lie  all  around 


A   Glini|)ie  ot   Manitou   and   Pike's   Peak. 

it.  There  are  a  band-stand  and  swings  and  similar  aoeonunodations 
for  fun-loving  children.  With  mountains  all  around,  in  a  dry  and 
rarefied  and  wonderfully  curative  atmosphere,  in  charming  locations, 
w<>  have  an  hotel  for  visitors,  summer  villas,  pavilion  for  shelter  and  for 
dancing,  parks,  deor;  Monument  creek,  with  its  cascades;  beauties 
in    pine  and  sycamore,  moss  and  shrubs  and  wild   (lowers.     It  is  a 


I 


FROM  VITWAGO  TO  VraWUIA. 


18 


Sunday  jiloasun!  resort  for  Denver,  and  on  that  day   specMal   trains 
are  run,  wliicli  are  wi^Il  patronized. 

The  most  strikinjf  natural  object  we  pass  between  the  divide  and 
Denver  is  Castle  I'ock,  tliirty-lhree  miles  fiom  Denver.  Ft  is  a  pronii- 
neiit  portion  of  the  foot-hills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  has  a  most 


Monufnent  Park. 


castle-like  lo<jk;  but  it  is  jiradually  lessening  in  size,  great  boulders 
liave  chipped  off  and  roiled  down,  more  will  follow,  and  an  ajre  will 
come  when  Castle  Rock  will  be  oidy  a  memory,  or  a  line  in  a  book. 
Time  conquers  all  things. 


H 


!l 


14 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


We  have  passed  a  low  prairie  doj?  villajjes  l)etvv(HMi  Pueblo  and 
Denver.  We  arrive  in  Denver  at  '.^'.U^  v.  M.,  and  at  night  go  to  the 
Tabor  Opera  House,  one  of  the  show  places  of  Denver,  of  which  its 
citizens  are  justly  proud.  The  exterior  is  imposing,  the  interior 
spacious  and  attractive,  the  seats  roomy,  and  the  ventilation  excep- 
tionally i;o()d. 

Tuesday,  July  '-i!»th.  We  drive  to  the  fine  Exhibition  Building, 
and  through  the  principal  streets.  Denv(!r  has  fiiKi  private  and  pub- 
lic buildings, — among  them  the  County  Building,  the  Windsor  Hotel, 
at  which  w*'  have  our  tpiarters,  the  Union  Depot,  and  the  High 
School.  It  has  also  thirty-six  common  schools,  large,  airy,  well  built, 
lighted  and  ventilated.  Its  school  buildings  an;  not  surpassed,  if 
ecpialed,  in  anv  other  city  in  the  Union.  Pure  water  is  much  cared 
for  and  sougiit  after.  The  hotel  at  which  we  stay  has  its  own  artesian 
well,  which  supplies  water  perfectly  free  from  all  impurity,  and  clear 
as  crystal.  The  American  Hotel  also  has  its  own  artesian  well,  and 
other  hotels  will  doubtless  be  spurred  on  by  rivalry  to  similar  acqui- 
sitions. A  splendid  site  on  high  ground  directly  facing  the  Rocky 
Mountains  has  been  set  apart  for  the  Capitol  buildings  and  grounds. 
What  sublime  dc^crees  ought  to  be  the  result  of  such  an  outlook  ! 
With  the  snow-clad  sumnuts  of  the  sublimities  looking  down  and  in 
upon  them,  surely  legislators  will  not  dare  to  be  mean  in  mind  nor 
paltry  in  periormance. 

It  raint'd  during  our  drive.  It  makes  as  much  fusa  about  a 
shower  here  as  a  hen  does  cackling  over  a  newly  laid  egg;  threatens 
what  it  will  do  long  before  it  settles  down  to  business;  shakes  the 
trees  as  if  it  were  going  to  blow  tlieni  down,  whirls  the  dust  in  clouds 
as  if  it  were  a  simoom,  and  does  its  Ix.'st  to  scare  everybody  and  make 
everything  shiver  and  shake  and  cpiake.  It  can  l)e  seen  afar  ott", 
coming  on  blustering,  black,  and  as  bogey  looking  as  it  can  make 
itself.  Then  it  reaches  us,  and  rains  for  ten  minut(?s,  or,  perhaps,  by 
a  great  effort,  half  an  hour.  This  is  its  usual  course.  It  bullies  and 
blusters,  and  tries  to  terrify  by  putting  on  a  formidable  and  dismally 
foreljo<ling  appearance,  aiul  ends  by  a  brief  and  impotent  perform- 
ance. Rain  is  not  much  of  an  element  here.  Nobody  cares  for  it, 
or  depeiitls  upon  it,  or  exj»ects  anything  from  it.  When  it  threatens 
most,  it  is  not  even  relied  upon  to  lay  the  dust.  It  progresses  in 
power,  however,  and,  if  it  oidy  ptirseveres,  may  yet  achieve  success. 

Irrigation  is  the  thing  in  Colorado.  It  producers  prolific  results. 
They  raise  line  crops  by  irrigation*  and  there  is  no  reason  why  they 


i 

should  not  raise  a  fine  race  of  men,  as  the  latter  irrigate  themselves 

1..                      - 

♦"             _       ■ 

i 

FROM  CnrCAGO  10  VICTORIA. 


15 


ling, 


ilves 


even  more  copiously  than  they  irrigate  the  soil.  In  the  East  th«'y 
go  out  "  to  see  a  man."  In  Colorado  they  '*  irrigate."  "  Let  us  irri- 
gate "  is  the  way  in  which  they  invite  you  to  practice  at  the  bar. 

The  Windsor  Hotel  is  palatial  in  every  sense  of  the  word;  and  in 
views  of  it,  on  its  envelopes  and  letter-heads,  it  appears  with  the 
lofty,  snow-clad  Rocky  Moiuitaina  for  a  background.  Nothing  can 
be  finer  than  that  point  of  view;  but  there  is  another,  which  reminds 
us  of  nothing  so  much  as  of  that  single  step  which  Thomas  Paine  and 
Napoleon  the  Great  and  other  celebrities  littve  told  us  divides  the 
sublime  from  the  ridiculous, — on  one  side,  the  magnificent  snowy 
range;  on  the  other,  hovels.  "  Ermine  and  vermin,  magnificence 
and  rats." 

In  one  direction  we  look  out  from  this  regal  hotel  upon  the  mar- 
velous white-hooded  mountains;  in  another,  we  look  across  the  street 
on  hovels  and  shanties,  and  low,  mean,  rickety  buildings  most  anti- 
palatial,  and  yards  of  ill  aspect  and  noisome.  In  front  of  us  is  the 
son  of  sunny  Italy,  unclean,  uncarniy  looking,  unsavory  and  altogether 
unattractive, — not  the  son  of  ancient  Rome,  nor  of  the  Rome  of  Maz- 
zini  and  Garibaldi.  This  unwashed,  unshorn  foreigner  presides  over 
a  fruit  stall  of  unsteady  understivndings,  of  which  it  is  impossible  to 
suspect  good  things.  These  are  I'ontrasts  inseparable  froui  new 
cities,  which  time  will  amend.  Denver  can  stand  contrasts  like  these, 
although  it  can  not  be  said  to  care  for  them,  and  is  fast  getting  rid 
of  them,  and  is  a  city  to  be  desired  of  man  even  afttir  everything 
has  been  said  against  it  which  can  fairly  l)e  said.  We  have  come 
from  Cliicago  to  Kansas  City,  489  miles;  Kansas  City  to  Newton, 
'i,{)\  miles;  Newton  to  La  Junta,  ;{|0  miles;  IjU  .lunta  to  Denver, 
18+  miles;  a  total  of  1,244  miles. 

Wednesday,  July  oOth.  We  leave  Denver,  altitude  5,200  feet, 
at  11  A.  M.,  and  at  3:40  p.  m.  arrive  at  Manitou,  eighty  miles  distant, 
altitude  G,;5T0  feet.  We  retrace  part  of  the  way  we  have  come 
seventy-five  miles  to  Colorado  Springs,  and  transfer  to  a  branch  line 
of  five  miles  to  Manitou,  where  we  take  a  drive  of  about  six  tniles, 
going  first  to  Williams  Cafion.  It  is  marvelous  to  see  h(»w  the 
wind  and  the  rain  have  scooped  out,  torn  and  chipped,  mined  and 
undermined,  these  immense  walls  of  rock.  I  make  an  attempt  to 
climb  to  the  "Cave  of  the  Winds,"  which  is  near  the  summit  at  one 
side  of  the  cai'ion;  but,  after  clind)ing  nearly  to  the  top,  find  it  too 
hot  work,  and  content  myself  with  taking  in  the  various  views  from 
the  point  attained,  and  make  a  leisurely  descent. 

The  seductive  advertising  card  of  this  cave  apprises  me  of  what  I 


10 


NOTES  OF  A  TIUP 


1 


Williams  Canon. 


FROM  ClllU.UiO  TO   VICTORIA. 


17 


have  missed:  "This  ciivo  is  not  r(|U!ih'(l  by  any  attraction  in  th»» 
State.  Aladdin's  hmip  never  discloseil  sucii  wonderful  sieneiy.  It 
is  an  elfin  ramble,  ami  the  centre  of  scenic  beautv."  Upon  wliieb 
foUowod  details  of  scenery.  Havin<>-  read  the  "Thousand  Nights 
and  One  Xight,"  I  distrusted  this  card  an<l  its  annizing  claims,  iind 
clung  to  my  faith  in  the  splendid  incredibilities  of  the  magical  lamp. 
Having  wandered  for  miles  in  the  Mammoth  Cave  of  Kentucky,  I 
doubted  of  more  wonderful  eaves. 

After  exploring  the  canon  and  picking  up  specimens  which  would 
make  the  heart  of  the  geologist  leap 
for  joy,  1  rest  upcm  a  huge  boulder,  i*fj 
and  pore  upon  the  brook  which 
babbles  by,  until  a  shower  sends  me 
for  shelter  to  the  hut  at  the  foot 
of  the  pathway  t(j  the  cave.  Wliih; 
waiting  for  my  companions  to  retiuii, 
a  youth  incpiires  his  way  to  the  cave, 
and  1  play  amateur  guide,  and  dii-ect 
him.  He  sets  oil'  at  a  high  rate  of 
speed,  and  does  some  fast  walking. 
1  put  to  immediate  use  my  small 
knowledge  of  mountain  air  and  of 
climbing  these  heights,  and  hail  him 
with  t!i(^  startling  information  that 
he  must  restrain  himself,  or  he  will 
drop  down  breathless,  and  never 
reach  the  top,  and  may  even  fail 
to  be  "interested"  in  "the  subse- 
((uent  })roceedings,"  including  the 
rapidity  with  which  he  may  reach 
the  bottom  by  new  and  hitherto 
unexplored  ways.  IJeing  nuide  to  understand  that  he  can  not  climb 
high  and  fast  in  this  rarefied  air,  and  that  it  will  take  all  the  breath 
he  has  to  go  slowly  ami  high,  he  nurses  his  breath  an<l  ascends. 

Then  we  drive  ti[)  i\w  Ute  Pass,  another  canon,  and  a  highway  to 
Leadville  before  railroads  abolished  it  as  a  highway,  and  su])erseded 
the  numerous  teams  which  traversed  it.  Leadville,  from  a  minin<i- 
camp,  rose  to  be  a  great  mining  city,  and  needed  and  was  |)rovided 
with  a  railway,  but  not  by  way  of  the  Ute  Pass.  We  drove  as  far  as 
Rainbow  Falls,  the  chief  glory  ami  attraction  of  this  canon,  and  well 
worth  a  visit.     We  scrambled  about  the  rocks  at  its  foot,  gettini:'  iniir 


R,,,nh. 


I 

1 
I 


I   ' 


1   ( 


IH 


XOTH^  Ol''  .1  77.7/' 


ami  >;<)ii{|  views;  hut,  as  tlirre  was  no  sun  at  the  time,  no  rainbows 
could  1)0  seen.  Al'terwiird  \v(.'  drove  on  tlie  trail  to  Pike's  Peak  as  far 
as  till'  Iron  Ute  Spiinu;,  and  tasted  its  licalirifr  waters  in  the  natinal 
state,  and  also  as  inanufactured  into  lemonade.  Previously  we  had 
visited  and  tasted  tli<!  other  mineral  sprinjrs,  five  in  number,  two  of 
them  close  tofjether,  but  of  widely  dill'crent  (|ualities.  Carbonate  and 
huiphiite  (if  soda  jivt'vjiil  in  all  these  s|)iin<js,  includini>-  the   TIte,  and 


Pike  5  Peak  Tij,' 

carl)onate  of  ma<rnesia  in  five  of  them.     The  waters  in  some  effer- 
vesce vciy  freely,  and  babble  up  in  uidindted  supplies. 

Pike's  Peak  is  l-i,Ur  feet  above  the  li^vel  of  the  sea.  Snow  lies 
on  the  top  all  the  year  round.  The  T'nited  States  Government  has 
a  signal  station  on  tiic  top  in  connection   with  the  AVeather  Bureau 


i    I 


nw.\r  ciiiCAoo  to  victoiha. 


19 


)  iaiiil)<)ws 
^eak  iis  far 
he  natural 
sly  we  had 
bor,  two  of 
boiiato  and 
B  TTte,  and 


some  offer- 
Snow  lies 
jrnment  has 
ther  Bureau 


in  WahliiM<;;t(>n, — Old  Probaliilitit's,  ui  nioif  laniiliarly  known  to  us 
all  as  "Old  I'robs."  It  is  twelve  miles  by  loot  and  bridle  path  to 
till'  summit,  and  during  the  summer  parties  are  made  up  early  everv 
niorninjr,  who  accomplish  the  trip  there  aiid  back  on  horseback  in 
oiu,'  (lav.  Hv  lookins;  hmy:  and  carefullv  and  traininij  the  ev»f  to  the 
work,  we  discern,  as  specks  in  the  distance,  horses  and  riders  thread- 
ini;  their  way  down  the  mountain.  The  Pike's  Peak  railway  is  ix'ing 
built  to  the  top,  which  will  increase  the  distance  to  thirty  miles, 
but  will  make  the  trip  one  ol'  ease  and  pleasure,  and  less  of  labor  and 
latiiTue  than  it  is  now.  This  railway  will  nif)unt  two  thousand  feet 
liiirhtT  than  the  Lima  and  ( )i()va  railroad  in  Peru.  Its  entire  leiioth 
will  be  a  successi(>n  of  complicated  curves  and  grades,  with  no  piece 
ot  straight  track  nmre  than  three  hundred  feet  in  length. 

Thursday,  .Jul}'  31st.  We  start  early,  with  a  pntgramme  made 
out  lor  all  day,  and  take  a  carriage  drive  of  over  thirty  miles  to  the 
(rarden  of  the  Gods,  Glen  E^'rie,  Colorado  Springs,  and  North  and 
South  Cheyeniu'  Carii>ns. 
A  capacious  hamper 
jammed  full  of  various 
supplies  relieves  us  of 
all  apprehensions  on  th(! 
j^core  of  commissariat 
until  supper  time,  which 
is  the  hour  at  which  we 
purpose  to  be  back.  We 
•  MitiM'  the  Garden  of  the 
Gods  by  the  south  en- 
tiance,  instead  of  bv  the 
<>ate\vav,  as  on  mv  first 
visit,  a  few  years  ago. 
"  Balanced  Pock,"  close 
to  the  entrance,  first  at- 
tracts   the     eye.      It    is 

about        fifty        feet        hijjh,  Balancod    Rock. 

thirty  feet  thick  at  its  greatest  brciidth,  stands  on  a  point  of  about 
three  I'eet,  and  weighs  numy  tons. 

The  sjarden  is  about  two  miles  in  leniitli  and  one  in  width,  and 
grows  onl\'  rocks  of  wondrous  form.  It  would  take  numy  days  to 
thoroughly  explore  it,  and  see  it,  as  it  deserves  to  be  seen,  in  all  its 
details.  Such  an  exploration  would  be  replete  with  ))leasure  and 
constant  surprises.      We  drive  very  slowly  through  it,  stop])ing  every 


Hi 


I 


',»0 


yOTEs  OF  A   TltlP 


|i    ill: 


n  ,; 


I  'I 


now  and  a<;aiii  to  <r<'t  a  cIuxt  and  lonj^i-r  view  of  aoiiif  niaivi-l,  or  to 
look  beyond  tin-  jjardt'n  to  the  niij^lity  and  wondrous  raiijffol'  mount- 
ains alonjrsidc,  strotcliinj"^  away  far  out  of  siirlit.  All  kinds  of  gro- 
tes(|ue  fi^fures  in  roi-k  meet  the  siifht, — oUl  man,  toa<l-sl«)()ls,  hooded 
(ifTun'S,  seals,  fVoirs,  deer's  head.  Mother  CJiundy,  doii's  head,  lion, 
Tower  of  liahej,  (dephant,  Cathedral  l«o('k,and  many  more  catalo^fued 
in  jruide  hooks  ;  l)ut  no  jruide  hook  nor  any  (i(!S(:ri[)tion  can  convey 
an  ade(|uate  idea  of  tliis  astonishinjr  ganhjn. 


Garden  of  the  Gods. 

We  pass  out  at  the  gateway,  which  is  perli;ips  the  crowning 
wonder  of  the  plaee.  It  is  a  veritable  gat. -way,  of  prodigious  si/e 
and  imposing  altitude  and  appearance,  minus  the  gate.  As  far  as  we 
can  see,  and  one  can  see  far  in  this  clear  atmosphere,  we  keep  look- 
ing- back  at  these  majestic  portals  to  this  garden  of  giant  wonders. 

Glen  Eyrie  has  a  canon  which,  in  comparison  with  the  great 
canons,  may  be  described  as  a  baby  canon.      If  it  may  l)e  permitted  to 


iiii 


vi'l,  or  ti> 
1)1'  iiioiint- 

Is  of    jrrn- 

,  lidudcil 
i'!i(l,   lion, 

italuMUtMl 

III   CollVt'V 


FIIO.M  ( '/lie AGO  TO   VtCToltlA. 


21 


crowning- 
gious  size 
s  far  as  we 
ceep  look- 
oiulers. 

the  great 
Tmitteil  to 


speak  of  a  (.■afioii  in  this  way,  it  has  soinctliiiig  al)out  it  g»<ntl«'r, 
<(ni»'tt'r,  more  n>ti!i«!(l,  iiioro  (leiioato,  iiuTt'  Imnian,  ami  that  can  ho 
iiion*  easily  grasped,  than  thi?  hirgtT  canons.  I  saw  it  some  years 
ago,  hut  couhl  not  see  it  to-day.  All  the  ground  abo  :t  the  entrance 
has  hfen  prei'iiipted,  and  occiipii'd  as  private  property.  A  gentle- 
iiiiin's  residt'iici-  and  gnmnds  bar  tin-  way  to  this  natural  wondt.'r, 
hide  it  from  view,  and  inakf  it  a  niysti'iy, — a  suppressed,  secluded, 
iiiij)rison('d   woiiilor,  instead  of  an  open   inarvi-l.      It  is  an  outrage   to 


permit  any  one  to  niaki'  private  piopcrty  of  scenery  lik(»  this.  As 
well  prei'inpt  Niagara  Falls,  or  demand  toll  for  a  sight  of  ocean. 
There  is  a  legend  that  a  shrewd  citi/fu  prei-mptetl  the  top  of  Pike's 
Peak,  and  that  much  peisuasive  power  was  ie(|iiir('d  to  convince  him 
that  the  United  States  Government  was  a  "  higer  man  "'  than  he  was. 
He  was  ultimately  eomjielled  practically  to  assent  to  the  precedence 
of  the  claim  of  the  government  over  that  of  any  citizen. 

We  were  permitted  lo  drive  about  the  beautiful  grounds  of  Glen 
Eyrie,  in  part  shut  in  hy  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  on  another  side 
by  perpendicular  natural  walls  of  great  altitude.     High  up  in  these 


II!! 


i! 


i  I : .' 


ill 


!'  ' 


Kill' 


I'M 


A< 


22 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


walls,  1  noticed  the  liii<re  nest  of  an  eatrlc,  supposed  to  be  the  same 
nest  I  saw  on  a  former  visit,  as  it  was  in  the  same  spot.  Some  natural 
columns  of  rock  in  these  grounds  are  about  ona  hundred  feet  high, 
and  at  a  distance  look  like  monuments  erected  by  num.  As  we  ilrive 
from  Glen  Eyrie  to  Colorado  Springs  we  get  distant  views  of  the 
Garden  of  the  Gods;  and  the  range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach,  comes  into  full  and  splendid  view. 

Colorado  Springs  is  four  square  inih^s  in  area,  is  five  miles  from 
th<>  mountains,  and  at  an  altitude  of  (1,023  feet.  It  ir-:  about  fifteen 
years  old,  has  a  population  of  over  6,000,  ••iiid  is  beautiful  with  trees 
and  flowers  and  small  parks.  Through  the  streets,  which  are  wi<le, 
and  lined  with  shade  trees,  water  flows  frei'ly,  aiul  in  unlimited 
volume,  in  irrigating  ditc:hes.  The  water  suj)ply  for  irrigating  iiiid 
drinking  purposes  is  said  to  b(>  practically  unlimited,  and,  toming,  as 
it  does,  from  lofty  mountain  heights,  gives  a  pressure  which  makes 
fire  engines  superfluous.  We  drive  through  a  broad  street,  with  two 
rows  of  trees  in  the  centre,  and  a  row  on  each  side,  and  which  is 
intersected  by  several  small  parks. 

The  drive  to  the  Cheyenne  canons  was  mainly  over  a  road  l)v  a 
pleasant  brook,  and  sheltered  by  trees.  We  drove  nearly  as  far  as 
the  carriage  drive  extended  in  South  Cheyenne  Cafion,  and  then  took 
lunch  in  a  wood  cabin,  with  the  clear  waters  of  the  canon  flowing  on 
both  sides  of  us.  It  was  a  hot  and  tiresome  walk  to  the  Seven  Falls 
of  the  Cheyenne;  l)ut  the  wonders  and  the  beauties  of  the  wav,  and 
the  culminating  sight  of  the  Seven  Falls,  made  us  glad  that  we  had 
not  missed  a  foot  of  the  distance.  In  a  succession  of  seven  falls, 
the  sweet  mountain  stream  makes  its  descent  from  the  mountain  top 
to  the  bed  of  the  cafion.  At  the  foot  of  the  lowest  fall,  the  topmost 
ones  are  not  in  sight.  I  climbed  to  where  1  could  see  the  whole 
series  above  and  below;  but  this  was  not  half  way  to  the  roj).  I  had 
enough  of  climl)ing,  and  rested  and  made  a  leisunMy  descent,  and 
lay  on  a  boulder  at  the  foot  of  the  lowest  fall,  and  in  frfmt  of  it,  listen- 
ing to  its  voice  and  enjoying  its  coolness,  initii  rejoined  by  the  rest 
of  the  company. 

Afterward  we  drove  about  two  miles  up  North  Chevenne  Cafion 
in  wooded  ways  by  a  delightful  stream,  the  bed  of  which  is  chiefly 
a  series  of  little  falls.  The  two  eafioiis  are  a  little  les^s  than  a  mile 
apart.  In  both,  the  mountains  rise  to  a  great  height  on  either 
side,  and  huge  and  curious  shapes  of  rock  arrest  attention.  The 
North  Canon  was  the  finest  drive,  and  was  more  beautiful  with  trees. 

On   our   ri'turn  in  South  Canon,  as  we  passed  the  hut  at  which 


li 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO   VlCTOlilA. 


23 


the  saine 
V  natural 
"oet  high, 
we  ihive 
■s  of  the 
ins,  as  far 

lies  from 

It  fifteen 

vith  trees 

are  wide, 

unlimited 

atini^  jind 

'Muinir,  as 

ch  makes 

with  two 

which  is 

road  i)y  a 
[•  as  far  as 
1  then  took 
flowiiii;  on 
even  Falls 
3  way,  and 
lat  we  had 
even  falls, 
untain  tup 
le  topmost 
the  whole 
np.  I  had 
scent,  and 
)f  it,  listen- 
)y  the  rest 

luie  Caudi) 
1  is  chielly 
han  a  mile 
on  either 
tion.  The 
with  trees. 
It  at  which 


we  had  lunched,  it  was  being'  taken  possession  of  fur  the  night  by 
a  party  who  were  camping  out.  We  saw  more  than  one  team,  each 
with  a  party  who  had  all  the  requisites  for  camping  out.  To  sh'ep 
in  this  vagabond,  Bohemian  way  in  these  wonderful  canons,  seemetl 
a  new  kind  of  pleasure. 
After  a  drive  of  nearly 
ten  hours,  we  got  back 
to  our  hotel  at  Mani- 
tou,  ready  for  supper 
and  bed.  The  air  of 
Colorado  creates  an  ap- 
petite, and  weighs  the 
eyelids  down.  Wt; 
drink  in  this  tine  air; 
we  revel  in  it;  we  take 
in  new  life  from  it. 
Whatever  the  days 
may  be,  the  nights  are 
cool ;  and  the  air  we 
have  breathed,  enjoyed 
and  exulted  in,  and  the 
cool  night,  shut  down 
our  (eyelids,  and  com- 
pel refreshing  sleej) ; 
and,  wiien  morning 
comes,  we  wake  t(  > 
bounding  i  m  pulses, 
feel  as  if  we  must  skip 
and  bound  and  play, 
and  ar(i  r  e  a  d  y  an  d 
eager  for  another  dav 
of  vigorous  exercise. 

For  miles  and  miles 
we  ride  alon{„^side  tln,'se 
snow-capped  sublimi- 
ties   which    form     the 

backbone  of    the    COnti-  Section  of  Cneyenne  Kails. 

nent.  Patiently  they  stand,  and  time  chips  away  at  them  with  a 
patience  equal  to  their  own.  Change  is  on  them  as  on  all  things. 
'I'alk  of  everlasting  hills:  that  is  so  much  nonsense.  Time  smiles  at 
that,  as  he   persistently    and    imperceptibly  keeps   on    demolishing- 


1 1 

I 


i!' 


I  i 
11^ 


I 


;  i 


Wl 


!  -;i 


]\\  :l! 


24 


AOTES  OF  A   TlilP 


tlicni.  Aij-e,  rain,  wind  and  .snow,  destructivo  forces  vliicli  are  only 
creative  I'oiccs  under  another  name,  clii])  otf  boulders,  roll  them  to 
the  plain,  ^-rind  them  to  fine  dust,  and  scatter  that  dust  broadcast. 
The  process  can  be  seen  as  one  travels  Imndreds  of  miles  in  and 
throuyh,  over  and   along-side,  this  enormous  mountain  ran<>e. 


KorUl   Cheyennp   Canon. 

\N  liiit  inarv(>ls  tlii'M'  UKuuitains  hold  !  what  treniench.us  abysses  ! 
what  awe-inspirino-  .-ilntudes  !  what  rayinj.- torrents  !  what  gleaming 
waters  in  p,,ol,  rivulet,  fall  and  lake  !  Now  this  mountain  land  is 
beautiful  with  trees  and  flowers;  now  bleak  and  barren  above  the 
tiinh.M-  line  ;ind  line  of  vegetation,  and  with  rents  ami  crevices  of 
unknown    depths    and     dimensions,    hlled    with    snow    which    never 


FROM  rniCAGO  TO  VICTORIA. 


1  are  only 
them  to 

iroadciist. 
los  111  and 
It'. 


IS  ahvsscs  I 
It  fricaming 
:ain  land  is 
above  the 
crevices  ol' 
■hich    never 


appears  to  decrease  in  vohinie.  What  lessons  may  be  read  liere  by 
the  man  who  brinors  to  these  scenes  a  receptive,  responsive  soul  ! 
Heie  the  wisest  may  find  more  wisdom;  the  boldest,  fear;  the  <z;ayest, 
maddest,  wildest,  some  touch  of  sobriety  of  thought;  the  saddest  and 
most  sorrow  laden,  some  (oblivion,  or  balm,  or  patience. 

"  If  thmi  Mil  worn  iiml  hard  lic-ift 
Willi  sorrows  lliat  Ilioii  wouldst  forirct; 
If  thou  woiild^i  ic'iid  a  lesson  that  will  keep 
Tliy  lieart  from  faiiitimr  and  thy  soul  from  slcc)*, — 
Go  to  the  hills:  no  W-ax^ 
Dim  the  sweet  look  that  nature  wears." 

What  histories  are  in  these  hills  I  What  sermons  in  these  stones  ; 
Wliat  booivs  in  these  mountain  lirooksl  He  to  whom  these  mountains 
have  not  a  language,  is  past  all  reproof,  or  help,  or  inspiration. 
T'ndcr  theii'  high  iidluence,  lite  does  not  look  at  all  a  juke,  nor  a 
shadow,  nor  a  vain  slunv,  but  real  and  earnest.  Clouds  obscure  their 
sunnnlts,  or  sail  over  their  face,  rainstorms  rage  midway  upon  them, 
snowstorms  in  summer  add  to  the  snow  wiiich  covers  their  loftiest 
] leaks. — all  visible  to  observers  who  stand  in  sunshine  below. 

All  impression  appears  to  ])revail  abroad,  that  bigness  is  the 
cliief  cliaracteristic  of  the  sights  of  this  land.  The  foreigner  only 
hears,  or  affects  to  hear,  of  big  rivers,  lakes  and  mountains;  and 
si'es,  or  allects  to  see,  these  alone.  I  do  not  wish  to  assist  in  kee|)- 
ing  up  the  impression  that  bigness  is  a  peculiarity  of  our  scenery.  I 
read  in  books  and  newspapers  of  othi-r  lands,  that  we  havt;  nothing 
iil<e  Lake  Geni'va,  in  Switzi'rland,  or  "  lovely  Loch  Achray,"  or  other 
lochs  of  Scotland,  or  lakes  of  Kngland,  which,  in  addition  to  their 
other  attractions,  have  become  a  part  of  im])i'rishable  song,  and 
luforgetable  history,  and  entrancing  legeml.  Vet,  we  have  in  the 
Mast,  Lakes  George,  Champlain,  .Mempliremagog,  Seneca,  Geneva 
and  many  another;  and  in  tin-  West  and  in  these  mountains,  count- 
less small  lakes  of  surpassing  lieauty.  It  is  not  thus  intended  to  dis- 
avow or  belittle  those  mi<>htv  inland  oceans,  laru'er  in  area  than 
European  kingdoms  ;  those  gnMt  unsalted  seas  that  bear  on  their 
broad  bosoms  the  rich  argosies  of  commerce,  the  priceless  ])roducts 
*)f  fertile  and  sovereign  States;  but  to  show  that  we  have  also  lesser 
glories  in  lakes  and  lakelets  of  ineil'able  beauty,  of  surpassing  loveli- 
ness, which  iummI  not  v(>il  their  beauties  nor  j)al(^  their  boast  before 
the  most  \aiinted  of  their  rivals  of  other  lands. 

Friday,  August  1st.  We  leave  Manitou  at  8:4")  a.  m.,  I'or  Salt 
Lake  City,  via  Denver  &  lUo  Grande   IJailroad  and  L'olorado  Springs 


t  ; 


\ 


•i      > 


ill  ! 
Ill '  ^ 


26  .vorA'.s  O/-'  ^  TRir 

and  Pueblo,  a  trip  of  6(i<>  milos.  From  Colorado  Si)rings  to  Salt  I.ako 
City  we  have  huffot  sleopirio;  cars,  in  vviiich  lunches  can  he  procured  at 
any  hour.  Wo  cross  tlu"  Arkansas  olten.  At  one  point  there  is  a 
suhnicrired  railway  track.     The  Arkansas  has  fancies,  and  indulges 

them.  It  sud- 
denly changed 
its  course  and 
went  hy  rail, 
and  nobody 
afterward  cared 
to  go  the  same 
way,  or  coidd 
have  jTone  it"  he 
had  so  cared. 
Its  waters  flow 
over  rails  and 
sleepers  where 
once  trains  ran. 
It  is  i  n  CO  n  - 
venient  and  ^-x- 
jiensive ;  hut 
the  river  would 
have  its  own 
willful  way. 

An  observa- 
tion car  is  put 
on  at  Canon 
City,  that  we 
may  sit  outside 
and  see  all  the 
wonders  of  the 
Grand  Canon 
of   the    Arkan- 


pe  ci  al  1  y  the 

Ihe  Royal  Gofge.  Koyal        Gorge. 

There  is  a  bla/ing  hot  sun  shining  fiercely  down  upon  us,  and  the 
wind,  which  is  a  little  unruly,  blows  right  on  us  smoke  and  cindeis 
from  the  engine,  and  dust  from  wherever  it  can  find  it,  and  it  appears 
to  lind  plenty  of  it.  We  heroically  sit  it  out,  however,  till  we 
have   passed   in    review    t'lO  glories  and    grandeurs   of   the    Grand 


It  i  lii 


FROM  CinUAGO  TO  VICTORIA. 


87 


m 


o  Salt  Lake 

procured  at 

t  there  is  a 

1(1  indulges 

It  sud- 

y   cha lined 

course   and 

It    l)y    rail, 

u  o  1)  (I  d  y 

iward  cared 

ro  the  same 

or    coidd 

'e  (Tone  if  he 

1    so    cared. 

waters  flow 

?r   rails    an(.l 

epers  where 

ce  trains  ran. 

is    i  n  c  o  n  - 

nient  and  ^x- 

nsive ;     hut 

B  river  would 

ve    its     nwij 

llful  way. 

An    observa- 

m   car  is  put 

at     Canon 

ty,    that    we 

ly  sit  outside 

d  see  ail  the 

)nders  of  the 

'and      Canon 

the    Arkan- 

s ,    an  d    es- 

sci  al  ly  the 

)yal     Gorge. 

I  us,  and  the 

and  cinders 

nd  it  appears 

iver,   till    we 

the    Grand 


Canon,  and  have  looked  on  its  greatest  sight  of  all, — the  Koyal 
Gorge.  Here  the  Arkansas  and  the  railway  are  compressed  to  a 
breadth  of  only  about  thirty  feet,  with  perpenilicular  rocks  on  ench 
side,  3,(100  feet  high.  The  railway  for  a  short  distance  is  suspendtMl 
over  the  x\rkansas  on  "  an  iron  bridge  built  lengthwise  with  tlie 
river,  and  suspended  from  steel  trusses  mortised  into  the  rock  walls 
upon  each  side."  At  this  point  ftn  one  side  there  is  a  rent  in  the 
rock  extending  from  top  to  bottom. 

From  ."^alida,  147  miles  from  our  starting  point  of  this  morning, 

the  road  runs  in  one  direction  to  Fieadville,  and  in  the  other  to  Salt 

Lake  City.     At   Manitou   the  altitude   was  (JjoTO  feet  ;  at  Colorado 

Springs,  fiv(!   miles  from   Manitou,  <),(l2o  feet  ;  at  Pueblt),  forty-five 

miles  from  Colorado  Springs,  4,liG8  feet  ;  at   Canon    City,  forty-one 

miles  from  Pueblo,  5,3-1:4  feet;  at  Salida,  tifty-six  miles  from  Canon 

City,  7,050  feet.     From  Salida  w(^  go  on  ascending,  and   look  up  to 

altitudes  to  which    we   must  go,  aiul  down  upon  depths  from   whieh 

we   have  come.     We  do  not  go  on  a  level,  but  go  up  ;  do  not  go 

straight  forward,  but  run   round  and   round.     We  look  up,  and  see 

high  above  us,  but  leading   in   an  opposite   directicm   to  our  ])resent 

course,  the  track  by  which  we  shall  shortly  go.     We  look  down,  and 

see  far  below,  but  in  an  opposite  direction  to  our  present  course,  the 

path   by  which  we  have  come.     We  go  many  miles  circuitously  in 

order  to  make  one  mile  of  straisiht-forward  advance.     At  one   \\\\x.\\ 

point,  the   mountains   near  by  frame  a  view  far  below,  and   which 

we  have  left  far  behind,  of  a  most  spacious  and  beautiful  valley,  lying 

in  sunlight,  and  guarded  by  snow-capped  mountains. 

Most  of  the  way  there  are  two  engines.  As  we  asceiul,  the 
engines  puff  as  if  their  breath  were  going  out,  and  the  cars  strain 
and  creak  as  if  the  labor  of  it  was  physical  pain.  We  look  up  to 
amazing  altitudes  to  which  we  are  to  ascend,  as  appears  from  the 
outline  of  the  track,  which  distance  reduces  to  the  dimensions  of  a 
goat  path  ;  and  down,  with  wonderment,  to  the  depth  from  which  we 
have  come,  marked  l)y  the  thin  streak  of  the  railway  tiack  far  below. 

We  get  within  a  mile  walk  of  the  top  of  Mount  Ouray,  the  alti- 
tude of  which  is  14,043  feet.  In  this  clear  and  deceptive  atmos- 
phere, it  seems  only  a  few  minutes'  walk  to  the  top.  Snow  lies  on 
it.  Snow  lies  alongside  of  us  at  one  place.  From  lofty  points  of 
vantage,  we  get  views  of  sweet  valleys  lying  in  clear  suidight, 
hemmed  in  by  mountains  with  snow-clad  summits  ;  far  off,  but  seem- 
ingly close  at  haiul  ;  so  near  to  vision,  so  far  away  in  actual  distance. 
There  are  mountains  nearer  and  lower,  timber  clad  ;  others  with  trees 


i; 


(! 


28 


NOTES  OF  A   TRTP 


'  1  !    ■! 

!  •       1 

1';       . 

\ 
1 

i 

! 

1  'I 


stripped  of  l)raiicli<'s  and  folia<>o,  bare,  and  strewed  on  the  jTround 
liki'  stalks  of  wheat  or  corn,  or  like  bare  poles  left  stanilin<>-.  These 
are  till'  remains  of  forest  fires.  Snow-sheds  become  common  sijrlits. 
We  pass  tlu'ongh  many  of  them  before  attaiiiin<i-  ^Tarshall  Pass,  at 
an  altitudi!  of  l(>,7(jt)  feet.  From  this  divide  the  waters  ilow  in  one 
direction  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  in  tlie  other  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

There  are  only  ten  initiates  to  take  in  the  view.  We  an;  above 
the  timber  line.  Ve<retation  exists  in  lower  regions.  We  look  down 
on  loftv  mountains  and  lovely  vallevs, — in  every  direction  mountains 
and  \alleys,  both  at  an  elevation  of  thousands  of  feet,  and  both 
lii'tieath  us.  There  are  four  thin  stiips  of  terrace  below,  which  are 
the  lini's  of  track  by  which  we  have  ascended,  and  we  are  to  descend 
on  tli(>  other  side  on  similar  lim-s.  Flower  dealers  assail  us  ;  l)ut  we 
waste  not  a  jirecious  minute  of  the  ten  at  our  disposal,  and  brush 
aside  all  snmller  things,  and  adhere  steadily  to  sight-seeing. 

The  ten  minutes  do  not  seem  as  long  as  ten  seconds.  We  seem 
to  have  had  just  a  glimpse  of  this  wondcM-land  when  summoned  to 
lesume  our  seats  and  our  jourm'y  and  commence  the  descent. 
Cui'ves  and  altitudes  affect  merctnial,  excitable  people.  Two  lively 
ladies,  who  have  been  kei^ping  up  a  constant  exciteuKMit,  and  gener- 
ally bobbing  around  and  making  things  lively,  and  having  solid 
chuidis  of  fun,  are  overcome,  and  lie  kicking  and  screaming  in  the 
car,  wlien  we  leturn  to  it  after  our  ten  minutes'  sight-seeing  is  over. 
These  ladies  were  seriously  affected,  and  were  mad(>  worse  by  a 
crowd  of  amateur  nurses  of  both  sexes,  each  of  whom  had  separate 
opinions  and  diU'erent  remedies,  mostly  absurd  and  hurtful.  A 
doct<,)r  was  discovered  at  last,  who  aiiled  ii\  the  recovery  of  the  worst 
case,  and  the  other  recovered  without  a  (locator.  (^)ui(>t  people  usu- 
ally escape  these  jiainful  faints. 

We  are  alon<i'side  the  (Tunnison  rivei'.  and  niulit  and  the  lilack 
Canon  aie  approaching.  1  catch  glimjjses  of  canon  and  I'iver  as  I  lie; 
ill  my  i)ei'th.  We  cross  and  re-cross  the  river.  The  stream  runs 
fa-t,  and  looks  dark  ;  and  the  lofty  walls  of  the  ciinon,  two  or  three 
thousand  feet  high,  impress  mi'  with  the  idea  that  they  could  make  a 
niii'lit  of  their  own  if  nio-ht  wen?  not.  Gradually  1  <ret  too  tired  for 
sight-seeing,  and  give  it  up  for  the  day,  and  try  to  sleep.  Think  of 
sleeping  in  this  magnitici'iit  canon  ;  but  the  mountain  air  insists 
upon  sleep.  Thus  I  miss  countless  wonders,  among  them  the  red- 
hued  Currecanti  Needle,  described  as  an  al)ruptand  isolated  pinnacle 
which  has  all  the  grace  and  symmetry  of  a  Cleopatra  obelisk  :  but, 
judging  from  a  Cleopatra  Needle  which  1   have  seen,  and  pictures  of 


it;  iiiiii 


Pfwl 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO   VICTORIA. 


29 


1  the  <rround 

ling.     Th(?s<; 

inmoii  sijrhts. 

ilia  11    Pass,  iit 

s  fli)\v  ill  one 
|ilf  of  Mexico, 
e  an!  above 

To  look  down 
bii  mountains 
let,   and   both 

w,  wliich  are 
re  to  descend 

1  us  ;  but  we 
al,  and  brush 
ino-. 

s.  We  seem 
suiiinioned  to 
the  descent. 
Two  lively 
t,  and  geiiei-- 

liaviiijr  solid 
Miniiii;-  in  the 
ieeiny  is  over. 

worse  by  a 
liatl   separate 

hurtrul.  A 
•  of  th(!  worst 
t   people  usu- 

tid  the  Black 
I  river  as  I  lie 
'  stream  runs 
,  two  or  three! 
could  make  a 
\  too  tired  for 
p.  Think  of 
in  air  insists 
hem  the  red- 
ated  pinnacle 
obelisk  ;  but, 
1(1  pictures  of 


:}(» 


iVOZ/Vi"  OF  A  TRIP 


V 


!'  .1' 


W 


!?i 


I 


'1^^ 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTOlilA. 


81 


.;1  o 


"i 


mmim^timlk. 


m 


32 


NOTES  OF  A  TJi'IP 


Ml   :)«l 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTORIA.  88 

tho  (Jiirrecanti  Neocllo,  the  nt3tHlK'  of  tin;  Black  Cafioii  ilitlers  from  tlio 
iieeiUe  of  Egypt,  as  nature  from  art. 

Next  morning,  Saturday,  August  ^d,  as  we  whirl  round  curves, 
wasliing  becomes  a  fine  art.  Now  I  hold  on  to  the  washstand  with 
one  hand,  now  with  botii  hands.  I  brace  myself  against  the 
car,  I  bump  against  the  water  cooler.  Washing  on  the  stormy 
Atlantic,  washing  on  the  crookedest  road  1  have  ever  yet  been  on,  is 
nothing  to  this.  Crossing  the  Alleghanies  on  roads  famous  for  curves 
and  bends,  of  horseshoe  and  other  varieties,  is  nowhere  in  comparison. 
"  Any  fool  can  build  a  straight  road,"  said  a  Pennsylvania  expert  ; 
"  but  it  takes  an  engineer  to  build  a  crooked  one."  The  engineer  of 
a  crooked  turn  must  have  expended  all  his  genius  on  these  curves  ; 
nothing  more  in  the  way  of  curvature  on  the  spine  of  this  continent 
can  be  imagined  or  endured. 

We  come  upon  washouts,  and  see  where  the  road  would  have 
lain  if  the  mountain  torrents  had  not  preempted  it  without  law  or 
leave,  and  in  bold  defiance  of  vested  rights  and  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  The  river  holds  its  way  over  the  old  railway 
track,  and  we  meekly  pass  by  on  a  new  one,  wiiich  in  the  future 
the  raging  waters,  in  some  mad,  whimsical  fit,  may  elect  to  occupy. 
Tlien  the  railway  can  again  go  up  higher.  Excelsior  is  a  good 
motto  for  railway  companies  in  this  land  of  untamed  streams  and 
lofty  hills.  We  pass  over  \()()  miles  of  what  has  been  described  as 
billowy  desert,  and  tiie  surface  has  a  distant  resemblance  to  the 
billows  of  ocean  ;  but  even  this  scenery  is  shut  in  by  mountain 
ranges  which  take  it  completely  out  of  the  realm  of  the  common- 
place. 

Six  hundred  and  twenty-four  miles  from  Denver  we  enter  Castle 
Gate.  This  entrance,  or  gateway,  to  Price  River  CaHon,  has  two 
huge  red  pillars,  one  500,  and  the  other  550,  feet  high.  We  are 
now  in  the  Walisatch  range,  and  are  constantly  in  sight  of  huge 
and  curious  forms  of  rocks  bearing  resemblances  to  man  and  liis 
works  which  are  common  to  all  canons  which  I  have  seen.  We 
attain  the  summit  of  the  Wahsatch  Mountains,  and,  passing  down 
Soldier  Canon,  the  red  narrows,  and  the  beautiful  and  alluring 
Spanish  Fork  Canon,  emerge  into  Utah  valley,  bounded  by  mount- 
ains on  every  side. 

The  first  outlying  Mormon  settlements  have  small,  hut-like  hab- 
itations, in  which  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  comfort  of  any  but 
the  lowest  order  ;  they  do  not  appear  to  l)e  more  than  kennels  in 
which  to  sleep.     All  this  changes  rapidly,  however,  and    habitable 


.•M«- 


'^a 


84 


AO/A'S  O/-  .1    Tin  I' 


\^     ^ 


■•fi 


FItOM  CinCAOO  TO  VICTonrA.  aft 

iiiiil  iittractiv<>  hiiililinjfs  l)Oiriii  to  appear.  Tlie  tiolds  cverywlicn! 
ffisc  evidence  of  thril't  and  industry.  The  Mormons  and  the  Ciiinese 
hcem  to  have  the  capacity  to  yet  th<!  most  out  of  the  soil.  Water  is 
ntilizcd  all  over  tlw;  valley  for  purposes  of  irrij^atii'ii.  Wlier*-  man 
i^  iiis  own  |)r()videnc('  in  the  nse  of  water  on  fields,  the  results  look 
tKjpical  and  jirofuse. 


\ 


Cajtie   Gate. 

At  Spriiifjville,  a  flourishinjr  ])lace,  (384  miles  from  Denver,  I 
notice  a  prominent  store  with  this  legend  thereon,  '' Springville  Cc- 
op,"  and  find  that  it  is  a  Mormon  co-operative  store.  There  are; 
no  real  co-operative  stores  here,  nor  elsewhere  in  Utah,  on  the  En- 
glish plan.  They  are  simply  firms  with  a  numerous  partnership. 
The  members  inherit  all    the   spoils.     The  customers,  who  are  not 


-w 


86 


NOTES  OF  A  riilP 


members,  do    not  share  in  tlie  profits  on  tlie  same  plan,  nor  to  tlie 
s;.  ne  extent,  as  in  England. 

At  Prove,  we  are  681)  miles  from  Denver,  and  children  swarm 
on  the  platform  with  fruit  to  sell  at  bankrupt  rates.  It  is  offered 
at  an  alarming  sacrifice  when  the  moment  arrives  for  the  train  to 
move.  The  fine,  fresh  waters  of  Utah  F.ake  are  in  sight.  The 
valley  is  a  scene  of  beauty,  shut  in  by  the  snow-capped  hills.  It 
is  watered  by  the  clear  waters  of  numerous  mountain  streams  natural 


In  Spanish  ForK  Canon. 

and  artificial.  The  farms  look  like  large  gardens;  grapes  and  fruits 
oi  all  kinds  abound.  The  pretty  white  houses  peep  out  from  amid 
forest  trees  or  rich  orchards  of  liberal  area.  The  river  Jordan  flows 
from  Utah  Lake  into  Salt  Lake:  and  beyond  Provo,  we  run  alongside 
of  it,  and  keep  near  it,  until  we  reacii  Salt  Lake  Uitv,  crossing  it 
when  coming  in  sight  of  the  city,  which,  in  the  distance,  seems 
like  a  beautiful  forest,  with  houses  here  and  there  peeping  out.  It 
gradually  ascends  from  the  valley,  and  climbs  the  lower  heijrhts  of 
the  mountain  range.     It  is  more  of  a  forest  city  than  any  wliich  I 


to  the 


'^ 


FltOM  CHICAGO  TO  VIVTOIUA. 


m 


swarm 

oiFered 

train  to 

The 

*.     It 

natural 


K-^ 


Ml^ 


■^r:--r""iii nwrnitiMHli 


mmrngm 


V  m 


11 


33 


^W^ES  OF  A  TRIP 


have  seen;  ami,  in  itself  and  its  loLition  on  the  side  of  the  hills,  it 
would  be  called  beautiful,  anywhere.  We  can  see  from  the  train 
the  Tabernacle,  the  Assembly  Hall,  the  unfinished  Temple  and  the 
higher  buildings. 

From  the  city,  the  whole  Salt  Lake  valley  is  in  sight,  and  much 
of  Salt  Lake  with  its  mountain  islands.  The  valley  is  Utah  valley 
intensified.  It  is  thorouyhly  irrigated  and  cultivated,  and  almost, 
if  not  completely,  occupied  by  settlers.  Wheat  fields,  hay  fields, 
market  gardens,  cattle  ranges,  take  up  the  available  spare.  The 
climate  is  delightful.  It  is  a  land  of  sunshine  and  loveliness,  where 
health  and  plenty  cheer  the  industrious  tiller  of  the  soil.  It  has 
not  been  inaptly  named  "the  Eden  of  the  West." 

The  Jordan  is  a  dirty  stream,  and  inspires  me  with  no  desire  to 
be  baptized  in  it.  Wholly  or  in  part,  the  Jordan,  and  streams  of 
loftier  source  and  clearer  strain,  are  taken  out  of  their  original  course 
and  diverted  through  the  city.  Water  flows  next  the  sidewalks  in 
every  street,  in  some  of  which  it  is  clear  and  rapid  and  always  in 
considerable  volume,  and  in  many  places,  especially  in  the  best  resi- 
dence streets,  looks  as  if  it  were  a  natural  stream  flowing  in  its  own 
bed.  The  saints  do  not  much  practice  watering  streets,  and  the 
dust  is  simply  inconceivable.  Why  people  so  sensible  in  many 
other  respects  should  emlure  such  a  ])ermanent  nuisance  and  abom- 
ination as  this  dust,  is  a  mystery  of  faith  which  I  fail  to  penetrate. 

I  pass  the  Amelia  Palace,  large  and  imposing,  at  one  time  the 
residence  of  the  favorite  wife  of  Brigham  Young,  and  now  the  resi- 
dence of  the  present  chief  of  the  Mormon  church.  President  Ta3-lor. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  are  the  Bee-Hive  and  the  Lion 
House,  once  residences  of  Brigham  Young.  The  Lion  House  now 
ippears  to  be  used  as  the  principal  business  ofhce  of  the  ch\irch. 
The  Bee-Hive  is  surmounted  by  an  imitation  of  a  bee-hive;  and  lions, 
in  stone,  lie  on  each  side  above  the  entrance  to  the  Lion  House. 

In  continuation  of  these,  on  the  same  street,  and  on  the  same  side 
of  the  street,  and  in  the  same  block,  are  the  offices  of  the  iJeaeret 
Neios^  the  official  organ  of  the  church,  and  the  most  ably  conducted 
paper  in  the  Territory.  Next  to  these,  and  continued  on  a  cross  street 
o])po8ite  the  Temple,  are  the  tithing  houses,  where  the  saints  pay 
their  tithes  in  cash  or  kind.  The  unlinished  temple  is  surroundeil  by 
a  high  wall,  and  there  was  no  admittance  at  the  hour  at  which  I 
passed  it.     "  Commenced  April  (itli,  isr):),"  is  inscribed  on  it. 

On  one  side  of  a  tall,  long  and  well-built  brick  building  of 
spacious   breadth,  I    read    "  Z.  C.  M.  I,"    which,   beit)g    interpreted, 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO   VICTORIA. 


89 


lulls,  it 

the  train 

and  the 


n 


d  much 
ah  valley 
1  almost, 
ay  fields, 
re.  The 
ss,  where 
It  has 


desire  to 
treains  of 
nal  course 
ewalks  in 
always  in 
best  resi- 
in  its  own 
s,  and    the 
B  in   many 
and  abom- 
iiietrate. 
le  time  the 
w  the  resi- 
ent  Taylor, 
d  the  Lion 
FLiuse  now 
the  chiircli. 
;  and  lions, 
riouse. 
e  same  side 
the  TJeseret 
r  conducted 
cross  street 
saints    pay 
•rounded  by 
at  which    I 
n  it. 

building   of 
interon'tod, 


meaneth  "  Zioii  Co-operative  Mercantile  Institution."  Tt  is  more 
familiarly  called  by  saints  and  sinners  the  "Co-op."  This  legend 
adorns  its  front,  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord."  It  does  business  to  the 
extent  of  millions  of  dollars  anmnilly.  It  is  not  co-operative  in  the 
English  sense  of  tiiat  word,  but  is  a  partnership  concern,  two  or  three 
rich  partners  holding  a  controlling  interest,  and  the  balance  of  the 
stock  beino-  scattered  amonor  a  larije  number  of  small  luilders.  It 
has  a  reputation  for  keeping  on  sale  good  articles,  and  competes  for 
business  against  regular  merchants  on  the  regular  plan  of  competi- 
tion, under  the  usual  conditions,  and  with  the  usual  organization  and 
methods  of  any  ordinary  business  house. 

At  one  time  this  institution  had  a  practical  monopoly  ;  but  the 
gentile  from  without  and  schism  from  within  the  church  undermined 
its  power.  The  Walker  Brothers,  four  in  number,  descendants  of  a 
Mormon,  and  themselves  Mormons,  defied  and  denied  the  power  of 
Brigham  Young.  The  issue  was  on  tithes.  The  prophet  thought 
that  they  paid  too  little,  and  demanded  more  ;  but  they  refused  to 
pay  anything,  and  took  the  ground  that  the  office  of  the  prophet  and 
the  church  was  spiritual,  not  temporal;  that  the  church  should  not 
command  ir.  commerce  and  ])olitics  ;  and  that  in  civil  government 
the  United  States  was  siipreme. 

In  despite  of  Mormon  influence,  the  Walkers  built  up  an  oppo- 
sition trade  to  the  "great  Co-op,"  and  have  become  wealthy  and 
influential,  among  other  holdings  owning  the  V.'alker  House,  the  best 
hotel  in  the  city ;  and  I  was  told  that  they  were  owners  of  the 
Walker  Opera  House,  but  have  since  seen  it  stated  in  print  that  this 
is  owreti  by  the  McKenzie  Reform  Club,  a  gentile  organization.  In 
the  !."V(]e  between  the  AValkers  and  the  church.  Mormons  were 
f"  :,!(*(:>'  to  trade  at  the  store  owned  by  the  former,  and  thereupon 
I   e;  .'  i''i.'\)  became  popular: — 

"  MolluT,  may  I  no  out  to  shop  •> 
O  j-es,  my  dnrlintr  (lauii:lnc'r  ; 
But  be  sure  to  uo  to  the  great  Co-op, 
And  don't  go  near  tiie  Wallcer." 

I  ascend  to  the  top  of  the  Walker  House,  and  get  a  splendid  view 
of  the  city.  It  has  long  overpassid  the  limits  which  its  original 
i'lunders  eviilently  foresaw  for  it,  it'  I  may  infer  so  nnich  from  its 
!i?»'ii>g  extended  beyond  the  cemetery  which  lies  higher  up  on  the 
j'l  ,'!.i,ta!ii  slope.  Much  farther  away  still,  and  in  the  same  direction, 
lie  the  United  States  fort  and  barracks.     The  city  has  kept  strag- 


1 

'■r-!| 


40 


NOTES  OF  A  TlilV 


\\ 


J 


nil 


i'Jrt'il 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTORIA. 


41 


gling  out  toward  the  fort,  and  the  two  are  nearer  neiglibors  now  than 
when  first  they  made  what  promised  not  to  be  a  pleasant  acquaint- 
ance. It  is  claimed  that  the  city  streets  are  twice  as  wide  and  the 
blocks  twice  as  long  as  in  other  cities,  a  claim  which  any  one  who 
walks  them  will  not  feel  disposed  to  contest.  These  streets  are 
lined  with  shade  trees,  and  the  residence  portion  is  made  beautiful 
with  trees,  lawns  and  flowers,  and  clear,  babbling  brooks. 

There  are  two  opera  houses,  one  of  Mormon  origin  and  control  ; 
the  other  owned  by  Mormon  skeptics,  who,  as  already  explained,  held 
the  inadmissible  and  heterodox  tenet  that  the  church  had  no  rigfht  of 
control  in  temporal  affairs,  b>it  only  in  spiritual  ones.  Mormons  will 
not  go  to  the  heterodox  opera  house  :  gentiles  will  go  to  either.  Con- 
sequently, lo  insure  the  presence  of  both  saints  and  sinners,  a 
shrewd  manager,  having  ducats  in  view,  engages  the  Mormon  opera 
house.  "Mascc^te,"  by  the  same  company  that  I  had  seen  playing 
it  in  the  splendid  Tabor  Ojiera  House,  in  Denver,  was  being  played 
here.  Wishing  to  see  a  Mormon  play-house,  I  accepted  a  courteous 
invitation,  and  was  assigned  a  stage  box  from  which  I  could  have  a 
good  view  of  the  house,  a  most  substantial  one,  like  all  Mormon 
public  works.  [t  is  80  by  174  feet,  with  a  seating  capacity  of 
1,700. 

Sunday,  August  3d.  I  was  urged  to  make  an  excursion  to  Salt 
Lake,  and  bathe  in  its  waters,  and  told  wonders  about  the  invigorat- 
ing results  of  such  a  trip  and  bath  ;  but  I  preferred  to  go  to  the 
Tabernacle.  This  building  stands  in  what  is  known  as  the  Temple 
block,  in  which  also  stand  the  x\ssembly  Hall  and  the  unfinished 
Temple.  It  is  elliptical,  and  roofed  with  a  dome  of  the  same  form. 
The  latter  has  been  aptly  described  as  resembling  an  upturned  boat. 
The  Tabernacle  is  150  feet  wide,  ^50  feet  long,  and  J)0  feet  high. 
The  organ  was  pealing  forth  solemn  music  as  we  entered.  We  took 
seats  two  or  three  rows  from  the  front  of  the  gallery,  at  the  end 
facing  the  organ,  orchestra  and  ministering  saints  at  the  other  end. 
The  organ  is,  I  believe,  the  largest  and  finest  on  the  continent  save 
one;  and  the  well-trained  choir,  two  hundred  in  number,  is  said  to 
be  the  best  west  of  New  York. 

The  leader  appeared  to  go  about  his  duties  in  a  business-like  way, 
as  if  he  were  wielding  his  baton  at  a  festival  or  a  grand  opera.  There 
are  twenty  very  large  entrances,  fourteen  for  the  ground  floor,  and 
six  for  the  gallery.  The  gallery  goes  all  round,  leaving  only  space 
at  one  end  for  the  organ  and  orchestra.  In  fnjnt  of  the  organ  sits 
the  choir,  ladies  on  one  side  facing  gentlemen  on  the  other  side.     In 


42 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


l! 


the  centre,  where  the  auditorium  ends  on  the  ground  floor,  stands  the 
sacrament  table,  a  long  table  with  marble  top.  Behind  it  there  is  a 
bench  of  the  same  length,  with  seats  for  about  twenty  officiating 
bishops.  Behind  this,  and  of  the  same  length,  rise  three  crimson- 
covered  rows  with  crescent-shaped  stand  for  Bible  and  hymn  book 
in  the  centre  of  each  row.  These  seats  are  for  the  highest  dignitaries 
of  the  church,  the  president,  councilors,  presidents  of  seventies, 
bishops,  etc.  On  each  side  of  the  first  of  these  rows,  reposes  an 
iron  lion,  painted  to  resemble  marble.  Still  farther  away,  on  each 
side,  repose  duplicates  of  these. 

Behind  the  dignitaries,  and  higher  up,  is  the  choir,  and  farther 
back  still,  against  the  wall,  the  huge  organ.  Some  of  the  occupants 
of  the  crimson-covered  rows  were  dressed  in  black,  others  wore  ordi- 
nary business  suits  of  light  colors.  The  seats  for  the  audience,  suffi- 
cient to  accommodate  1"^\000,  were  plain  wooden  ones,  with  wooden 
backs  not  too  high.  A  sketch  of  a  bee-hive  adorned  the  wall  behind 
us.  With  this  exception,  the  walls  were  bare.  The  roof  had  two 
skylights,  and  was  festooned  with  evergreens,  and  with  flowers  made 
of  paper.  The  congregation.  In  point  of  intelligence  and  appearance, 
seemed  to  be  the  average  congregation  usually  to  be  met  with  in 
churches  of  any  denomination,  except  that  it  was  not  so  showily  and 
gaudily  dressed.  Fans  fluttered  as  they  do  in  the  hot  season  in  all 
churches  and  theatres.  ; 

The  service  was  a  '" meral  one,  in  memory  of  "  two  deceased  serv- 
ants of  God,  Bishop  Leonard  W.  Hardy  and  President  W.  W. 
Taylor;"*  the  latter  one  of  the  presidents  of  seventies,  and  son  of 
the  President  of  the  church,  John  Taylor.  Bishop  Hardy  had  died 
ill  harness,  full  of  years  and  honors,  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy-eight 
years  and  seven  months.  He  was  one  of  two  selected  to  go  with 
President  Wilford  Woodruff,  when,  on  the  death  of  the  Prophet 
Smith,  and  his  brother  Hyrum,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Council  of 
the  Apostles  to  preside  over  the  church  in  England.  President  Will- 
iam Taylor  was  a  young  man  of  about  thirty,  who  had  made  a  repu- 
tation for  himself  as  an  active  and  able  worker  in  the  church,  and  a 
member  of  the  municipal  government. 

The  Mayor  and  City  Council  of  Salt  Lake  City  attended  the 
services  in  a  body,  and  accompanied  the  remains  of  their  respected 
co-laborer  to  their  last  resting  place.  The  bodies  had  lain  on  view 
from  8  A.  M.  till  10  a.  m.,  and  when  we  entered  at  the  latter  hour> 
the    last   of  the    crowds    were   passing   in    front   of   the   sacrament 

*  Deserct  Eveiiitir/  Nticn,  Monday,  August  4,  1884. 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTORIA. 


48 


stands  the 

there  is  a 

officiating 

crimson- 

mn   book 

iignitaries 

seventies, 

I'eposes  an 

on  each 

md  farther 

occupants 

wore  ordi- 

ence,  suffi- 

ith  wooden 

Yall  behind 

of  had  two 

3wers  made 

ippearance, 

net  with  in 

showily  and 

season  in  all 

ceased  serv- 
ant w.  w. 

i,  and  son  of 
[ly  had  died 
jventy-eight 
to  go  with 
;he  Prophet 
}  Council  of 
sident  AVill- 
lade  a  repu- 
tiurch,  and  a 

ttended  the 
ir  respected 
lain  on  view 
latter  hourj 
[J   sacrament 


table,  viewing  the  bodies,  which  lay  there  in  caskets  covered  with 
flowers. 

The  organ  ceased,  and  at  10:10  a.  ji.,  President  George  Q.  Can- 
non, who  conducted  the  services,  gave  out  the  hymn — 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way," 

which  was  sung  by  the  choir.  President  Joseph  E.  Taylor  prayed, 
and  the  choir  sang — 

"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee." 

Then  followed  eulogies  by  President  Wilford  Woodruil",  Bishop  Rob- 
ert T.  Burton,  President  Jacob  Gates,  President  A.  M.  Cannon, 
President  Joseph  F.  Smith,  and  President  George  Q.  Cannon.  Then, 
in  a  quiet  and  subdued  tone,  the  head  of  the  church,  President  John 
Taylor,  closed  with  a  few  sentences  of  consolation  and  care  for  the 
living.    The  choir  sang — 

"  In  the  .sweet  by  and  by." 

The  congregation  stood  up,  and  President  H.  S.  Eldredge  pronounced 
the  benediction ;  and  the  services,  which  had  lasted  over  two  hours, 
were  ended. 

President  George  Q.  Cannon  announced  the  speakers,  as  I  under- 
stood, without  previous  notice  to  them.  As  each  was  called,  he 
stepped  to  the  pulpit  stand,  in  the  centre  of  the  row  in  which  he  sat, 
and  spoke  from  thence.  Each  excused  himself  as  being  unprepared, 
and  as  not  having  expected  to  be  called  upon,  and  said  that  he  would 
only  make  a  few  remarks;  and  each  ended  with  "for  Jesus'  sake 
Amen," — the  last  words  uttered  swiftly  as  the  speaker  retired  to  his 
seat,  and  not  unlike  a  tired  child  ending  its  prayer. 

The  impromptu  speaking  lacked  fire,  force,  enthusiasm  and  lit- 
erary finish.  No  burst  of  eloquence  enlivened  the  dead  level  of  the 
talk.  There  was  not  even  volubility  at  all  times;  but  there  was 
sameness  and  slowness,  and,  with  nearly  all,  hesitations  and  long, 
painful  pauses,  as  if  the  speaker  might  stick  unexpectedly  at  ajiy 
moment.  The  speeches  were  not  grammatical,  nor  reasoned,  nor 
pathetic:  they  were  the  speeches  of  plain  men  speaking,  in  {)lain, 
simple  words,  to  plain  men.  Perhaps  there  was  restraint  in  them. 
They  were  practical,  and  had  a  personal  interest  which  held  attention. 
They  dwelt  on  the  gain  to  the  departed,  which  ought  to  be  matter 
of  rejoicing  to  tlie  bereaved,  rather  than  a  cause  for  selfish  grief. 
The  departed  had  escaped  from  the  evils  of  this  life,  and  were  beyond 
the  persecutions  of  the  wicked  and  the  power  of  death,  and  Satan, 


44 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


MM 


11 


1 1 


and  sin,  and  were  safe  in  a  land  brighter  than  day.  The  speaking 
was  a  kind  of  jubilation  on  these  topics,  which  were  insisted  upon, 
and  were  undoubtedly  believed,  and,  to  a  reasonable  extent,  exempli- 
fied. It  was  enforced,  too,  that  death  was  sweet  to  the  believer,  and 
bitter  to  the  unbeliever;  death  was  held  to  have  no  power  over  the 
believer. 

There  was  very  little  in  the  services  to  distinguish  them  from 
those  of  any  orthodox  Christian  church,  and  a  slightly  inattentive 
listener  of  such  a  church  might  have  failed  to  discover  that  he  had 
wandered  from  his  own  fold.  1  regret  that  I  did  not  hear  President 
Taylor  at  greater  length.  He  is  said  to  be  an  able  speaker,  which  I 
can  readily  believe.  President  George  Q.  Cannon,  too,  has  a  reputa- 
tion which  makes  it  unfair  to  judge  him  by  one  speech  delivered 
under  limited  conditions.  The  same  reasons  should  qualify  criticism 
on  all  these  speeches.  Mormonism,  I  am  advised,  has  able  speakers 
and  writers.  Personally,  I  am  unable  to  testify  as  to  the  speaking; 
but  as  to  the  writing,  at  least  in  the  daily  press,  it  is  undeniable  that 
the  Deseret  Evening  N'eirs,  the  organ  of  the  church,  is  edited  with 
consummate  ability. 

At  tlie  conclusion  of  the  funeral  services,  the  congregation  were 
directed  to  keep  in  their  seats  till  the  funeral  procession  had  filed 
out ;  and  the  doors  vrere  shut  to  enforce  this  order.  When  the  vast 
audience,  numbering  a])out  7,000,  was  finally  allowed  to  depart,  the 
perfect  arrangements  for  egress  enabled  the  great  building  to  be 
emptied  with  the  utmost  ease  and  rapidity,  and  without  crowding  and 
hustling.  Those  on  the  ground  floor,  for  the  most  part,  moved  out 
in  a  line  as  they  had  sat. 

The  acoustic  properties  are  perfect.  During  the  services,  people 
walked  out  and  in  and  about,  babies  wailed  in  all  directions,  restless 
little  ones  roamed  about  at  their  own  sweet  will,  no  one  making 
them  afraid,  an  uneas}'  young  man  behind  me  kept  clawing  and 
kicking  at  the  bench  upon  which  I  was  seated  ;  and  yet,  though 
almost  the  entire  length  of  the  house  from  the  speakers,  I  heard 
tlieiu  fairly  well,  scarcely  losing  a  word.  On  the  ground  floor  a  lady 
fainted,  and  was  carried  out  at  a  side  door,  without  the  episode 
stopping  the  speaker,  or  preventing  the  audience  from  hearing  him. 

It  was  unbearably  hot  outside  ;  but  the  ventilation  was  good,  the 
doors  were  open,  and,  although  little  air  was  stirring,  it  was  utilized, 
and  the  church  was  cool.  Huge  barrels  of  ice  water  stood  on  the 
ground  floor  on  each  side  of  the  church,  at  the  end  near  the  official 
stands  ;  and  little  folks  and  big  folks  handed  it  round  when  needed, 


FROM  CIIICAOO  TO  VICTORIA.  45 

or  thirsty  saints  and  sinners  walked  up  and  refreshed  themseives 
"  when  so  dispoged." 

Nowhere  have  I  seen  such  common  sense  in  building  a  church,  or 
in  conducting  a  service.  For  sjiaciousness,  coolness,  comfort,  ease 
in  hearing,  and  convenience  of  exit  in  case  of  alarm,  it  surpasses  all 
public  buildings  I  have  seen  or  of  which  I  have  heard.  Happy  little 
Mormons  were  not  made  to  sit  still  when  their  little  souls  were 
weary  for  change.  They  walked  about  and  changed  their  seats  at 
will.  The  sweet  humanity  to  children  thus  exhibited  was  new  to  me 
in  churches.  I  thought  of  the  weary  hours  of  church  service  in 
which  J  had  to  sit  rigid  and  bolt  upright  in  my  childhood  days,  and 
regretted  that  this  touch  of  Mormon  humanity  had  not  then  been 
infused  into  Christian  orthodoxy. 

The  Tabernacle  is  strongly  built  to  last,  like  the  Temple,  but  is 
not  as  fine  nor  as  imposing  as  the  Temple,  which  is  built  of  gruiiite, 
as  if  to  resist  an  attack,  and  stand  defiantly  forever  in  spite  of  man 
and  time  and  the  elements.  It  is  117  feet  wide,  180  feet  long,  and  200 
feet  high,  with  walls  sixteen  feet  thick  at  its  base,  and  nine  feet  nine 
inches  thick  above  the  surface.  Moons  and  stars  are  carved  on  its 
exterior,  and  there  is  still  similar  work  to  be  done.  It  is  far  from 
completion.  It  is  not  to  be  used  as  a  place  of  worship,  but  is  to  take 
the  place  of  the  present  Endowment  House,  in  which  the  secret 
services  of  the  church  are  held, — services  which,  so  far  as  we  have 
any  light  respecting  them,  appear  to  resemble  the  methods  and 
ceremonies  of  the  leading  secret  societies,  with  variations  of  detail 
and  of  ritual. 

The  Temple  is  built  as,  of  old,  temples  were  builded  to  God, — 
no  marble  front  for  show,  and  the  less  cons{)icuous  parts  of  the 
building  of  poorer  material  and  meaner  detail,  as  if  God  could  be 
swindled  with  a  front  view.  The  Mormon  Temple  is  good  all  through 
and  everywhere  ;  there  is  no  slop  work  ;  the  same  material  and  the 
same  careful  finish  and  thorough  workmanship  exist  uniformly  in  every 
part :  it  is  just  as  good  in  the  rear  as  in  the  front,  in  some  out-of-the- 
way  corner  as  in  any  part  most  prominent  and  most  exposed  to 
public  view.  It  is  a  piece  of  genuine,  honest  work  ;  it  is  real,  and 
there  is  no  pretense  about  it.  The  builders  evidently  believed 
in  God,  and  that  he  is  not  a  God  of  shams  and  pretense,  which  but 
few  builders  of  churches  in  modern  days  appear  to  do.  Nearly  all 
these  modern  builders  palm  off  on  heaven  fine  fronts,  and  mean 
details  elsewhere,  as  if  heaven  could  be  taken  in  with  appearances 
and  mere  outside  looks.     The  Assemblv  Hall,  a  granite  building  of 


, 


!; 


H 


'f\' 


40 


:NOrES  OF  A  TRIP 


fine  proportions,  and  the  smallest  of  the  three  buildings  in  the 
Temple  block,  is  for  religious  and  other  meetings,  the  same  as  those 
held  in  the  Tabernacle. 

We  drove  all  over  the  city,  i)ast  ])laces  already  named,  the 
tithinjr  houses,  through  the  Eagle  Gate  entrance  to  Brigham 
Vouiig's  property,  to  heights  from  whence  fine  views  of  the  city 
could  be  obtained,  through  most  attractive  residence  streets,  past 
comfortable-looking  and  elegant  homes  of  Mormons.  Water  flows 
plenteously  in  every  street ;  yet  dust  covers  everybody  and  every- 
thing. 

At  one  beautiful  Mormon  home  we  stopped.  The  owner  and  his 
wife  were  in  the  front.  Our  driver  called  out  to  him  that  I  wished 
to  see  his  hawthorn  trees,  which  stood  at  different  points  in  his 
grounds,  and  he  came  forward  and  courteously  invited  me  in.  I 
apologized  for  intruding  upon  him,  and  explained  that  I  was  an 
Englishman  resident  in  this  country  the  largest  half  of  my  life,  and 
wished  to  show  my  daughter,  who  accompanied  me,  the  hawthorn  of 
the  hedges  of  her  father's  native  land. 

"  I  am  English,  too,"  he  said.  "  What  part  of  England  are  you 
from?" 

1  answered  :  "  Northumberland;  but  1  have  not  seen  it  for  twenty- 
seven  years." 

He  added  :  "  I  am  from  Yorkshire,  and  my  wife  is  from  London." 

The  Hawthorn  was  not  the  wild  Hawthorn  of  the  "  loanins  "  of  my 
native  county,  but  that  with  the  double  (lower.  He  had  imported  it 
from  England.  It  served  me  for  a  text  on  which  to  expatiate  to  the 
"  Young  America  "  by  my  side  on  the  glory  and  the  freshness  of 
English  May,  and  I  did  not  omit  to  glance  incidentally  at  primrose 
dells,  just  to  show  that  after  all  there  are  some  things  in  the  mother 
country.  He  made  me  test  his  lawn,  so  soft,  so  velvety,  it  seemed 
almost  a  sin  to  use  it.  I  never  trod  on  lawn  so  perfect,  so  mossy 
soft  and  yielding  and  elastic.     He  said  that  he  played  bowls  on  it. 

"  You  can  not  get  the  deep  green  of  England,"  I  said,  "  although 
you  come  very  near  it."  . 

He  assented  regretfull}'. 

The  place  was  loveliness  itself,  with  trailing  vines,  creepers, 
iiowers,  peerless  lawn  and  beautiful  trees.  Two  lines  of  creepers, 
forming  two  sides  of  a  triangle,  stretched  from  the  porch  to  the 
street,  Chinese  pattern  wise,  but  many  times  lovelier  in  colors  than 
anything  made  by  hand  or  machinery.  His  wife  smiled  when  I  said: 
"  It  is  so  beautiful,  it  must  be  a  temptation  to  sin,  and  passers-by 


P  I 


FliOM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTOlilA. 


47 


must  break  the  commaiidnieiit  which  saith  '  Thou  shalt  not  covet.'" 
It  was  an  incomparably  lovely  little  spot.  He  showed  me  enormous 
strawbt'rries,  such  as  I  had  never  seen  before.  Many  if  not  all  of 
these  Mormons  were  poor  in  their  native  land.  They  are  rich  here, 
or  comfortably  well  off  beyond  any  day  dream  they  could  reasonably 
have  dreamed  in  their  early,  ante-Mormon  days. 

We  drove  past  the  cemetery,  and  on  to  Camp  Douglas,  past  the 
residence  of  the  commandant,  past  semicircular  rows  of  ten  double 
houses,  making  twenty  residences  of  officers,  with  lawn  in  front.  The 
soldiers'  ([uarters  were  solid  and  comfortable,  the  finest  camp  I  have 
seen  for  comfort  and  for  commanding  view  ;  finer  than  Fort  Snelling, 
I  think.  It  has  the  mountains  for  a  background,  and  looks  over  the 
city,  the  lake  and  the  whole  valley.  Uncle  Sam  seems  to  have  cared 
for  these  troops,  and  especially  for  their  oflicers.  Beyond  this  camp, 
and  easily  in  sight,  lies  the  caiion  by  which  the  Mormons  entered 
Utah.  We  did  not  wait  to  hear  the  band  which  i)lay3  at  8;  30  p.  m., 
but  drove  back  to  the  city,  meeting  on  our  way  carriages  going  fast 
to  the  camp  to  be  in  time  for  the  Sunday  band  concert.  The  moon 
was  obscured  behind  clouds,  the  curtains  of  night  were  drawn  down 
very  fast,  the  mountains  became  dim  away  in  the  distance,  and  the 
valley  disappeared.  A  view  from  these  heights,  of  the  valley  bathed 
in  moonlight,  which  we  had  promised  ourselves,  was  denied  us. 

On  July  Ji4th,  1847,  the  pioneer  xMormons,  143  in  number,  entered 
Salt  Lake  valley.  The  population  now  exceeds  150,000,  of  whom 
over  135,000  are  Mormons.  Over  200,000  acres  of  land  are  in  culti- 
vation, and  $300,000  per  annum  are  expended  in  irrigation.  Salt 
Lake  City  has  a  population  of  al)out  30,000,  and  covers  nine  square 
miles.     It  is  4,2G1  feet  above  sea  level. 

Monday,  August  4th.  I  had  interviews  with  Bishop  John  Sharp, 
President  George  Q.  Cannon  and  President  John  Taylor.  Bishop 
John  Sharp  is  Vice-President  and  General  Superintendent  of  the  Utah 
Central  Railway,  and  a  Director  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway.  I 
found  him  at  the  general  offices  of  the  Utah  Central  Railway.  The 
busy  and  intelligent  officials  of  these  offices  are  all  Mormons.  T'  . 
Bishop  is  a  "  canny  Scot,"  with  plenty  of  shrewdness,  ability  and 
business  capacity;  affable,  accessible  and  pleasant  to  meet,  as  all 
these  church  dignitaries  appear  to  be.  He  told  a  good  story  with 
quiet  and  striking  eflect.  From  Bishop  Sharp  we  went  to  the  Lion 
House,  to  see  President  John  Taylor. 

While  waiting  till  President  Taylor  was  disengaged,— if  he  can 
ever  be  said  to  be  disengaged  ;  as,  from  what  we  saw,  the  outer 


48 


NOTES  OF  A   Tint' 


I! 


I* 
/ 


office  }inil  his  reception-room  si-ein  to  be  pretty  full  of  visitors  all  the 
time, — President  Georye  Q.  Cannon  came  out,  and  engaged  us  in 
conversation.  He  talked  pleasingly,  and,  in  a  (juiet,  gentlemanly, 
unobtrusive  way.  almost  without  appearing  to  do  it,  imparted  a  fund 
of  information  about  interesting  points  in  Mormon  history. 

As  the  advance  body  of  Mormons  came  through  the  cailon  into 
Utah,  Brigham  Young,  suffering  from  mountain  fever,  lay  on  a  bed 
which  had  been  improvised  for  him  in  a  carriage.  He  directed  the 
driver  to  turn  ♦^he  carriage  across  tiie  road  to  enable  him  to  see  the 
valley,  which  he  at  once  aiuiounced  to  be  their  destination.  He 
located  the  city  at  once,  and,  the  moment  he  could  rise  from  his  bed, 
planned  the  whole  city,  and  determined  the  site  of  Tabernacle,  Tem- 
ple, Endowment  House,  Tithing  House,  etc.  The  Tabernacle  was 
built  on  his  plan,  and  the  Temple  is  being  built  on  his  plai!.  When 
what  he  did,  and  the  success  of  his  doings,  and  the  rapidity  with 
which  he  thought  and  planned  and  executed  his  plans  are  considered, 
it  is  easy  to  '^ee  how  his  followers  could  believe  in  his  being  inspired. 
He  appearf^.  a  leader  abler  than  Moses,  and  having  greater  difficulties 
with  which  to  contend.  Moses  got  away  from  Pharoah  and  the 
Egyptians,  superstitious  and  easily  befogged,  and  not  very  wide- 
awake ;  but  Brigham  Young  got  away  from  and  "  got  away  with  " 
this  great  Yankee  people,  "the  smartest  nation  in  all  creation."  He 
plunged  into  what  was  then  practically  the  unexplored  desert,  and 
dared  the  dangeis  of  desert,  mountains  and  hostile  Indians, — a  hos- 
tile nation  behind  him,  hostile  savages  and  unknown  dangers  and 
privations  before  and  on  all  sides  of  him,  his  destination  undetermined, 
in  an  unknown,  unexplored  land.  The  story  was  told  of  Fremont  on 
his  trip  across  the  continent  which  gave  him  the  title  of  Pathfinder, 
mistaking  Salt  Lake  and  Utah  Lake  for  one  sheet  of  water,  and 
reporting  the  lake  as  being  salty  at  one  end,  and  fresh  at  the  other. 

Speaking  of  the  freedom  permitted  in  church  to  children,  Presi- 
dent George  Q.  Cannon  said  :  "  We  like  children,  we  are  very  easy 
with  them.  Brigham  Young  did  not  believe,  with  Solomon,  in  birch- 
ing children,  and  his  example  and  influence  led  to  great  freedom 
being  permitted  to  them." 

President  George  Q.  Cannon  and  President  Joseph  F.  Smith,  the 
latter  a  nephew  of  the  prophet  Joseph  Smith,  are  respectively  first 
and  second  councilors  of  "John  Taylor,  President  of  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints  in  All  the  World."  President 
George  Q.  Cannon  was  formerly  delegate  from  Utah  in  the  United 
States  Congress,  and  would  have  been  delegate  still  if  Mormon  votes 


FltoM  CIHCAdO  TO  VICTORIA. 


4y 


had  counted  ;  but  the  Mormons  hjive  been  disfranchised  in  this 
country,  as  Mr.  Bradhiii<rli's  constituents  have  been  disfranchised  in 
Enj^hmd.  President  Cannon  <)j(!ts  nearly  all  the  votes;  but  he  is  not 
allowed  to  take  his  seat,  because  he  is  a  polygamist. 

Fiesident  John  Taylor  received  us  very  kindly.  Three  seats 
stand  on  a  small  dais,  the  centre  seat  a  little  higher  and  a  trifle  l)etter 
than  the  other  tv/o.  The  centre  seat  is  for  the  President,  and  the 
other  two  for  his  two  councilors.  I  saw  a  room  full  of  people 
evidently  waiting  to  see  the  President,  and  I  hesitated  to  occupy  his 
time  ;  but  he  did  not  seem  disposed  to  send  us  away  with  a  merely 
formal  introduction,  and,  at  his  request,  I  speedily  found  myself 
seated  alongside  of  him  on  the  dais.  "  We  are  cosmopolitan,"  he 
said,  "  and  see  many  who  come,  and  are  glad  to  see  them."  I  do  not 
report  all  he  said,  as  I  might  do  him  injustice  by  not  giving  his  exact 
language,  and  his  charming  confidence  and  kindness  deserve  fair 
play.  He  is  of  English  birth  and  descent,  and  came  to  this  country 
when  very  young.  There  appears  to  have  been  some  prophecy,  or 
something  akin  to  it,  that  the  church  would  pass  under  the  leadership 
of  the  English,  which  prediction  is  supposed  to  have  ulHllment  in 
him.  He  is  affable,  accessible,  imposing  in  appearance,  with  a  quiet 
dignity,  gentlemanly,  courteous,  puts  his  case  briefly  and  well  and 
strictly  to  the  point,  says  much  in  little,  and  is  physically  and  men- 
tally equipped  for  his  ofHce. 

He  stated  the  position  of  his  church  and  its  relations  to  the 
country,  and  what  he  regarded  as  persecutions  and  injustice,  calmly 
and  gently,  without  a  hint  of  hate  or  passion,  as  if  he  were  outside 
of  it  all  and  quite  disinterested.  There  was  no  touch  of  resentment 
in  tone,  manner  or  look.  He  is  of  the  highest  order  of  teachers  of  a 
new  faith.  In  perfect  gentleness  of  speech  and  maimer  he  resembles 
what  the  sacred  books  of  the  East  tell  us  of  the  speech  and  manner 
of  Buddha,  "  the  blessed  one."  There  are  amiability  and  benevolence 
in  his  countenance,  he  gives  and  invites  confidence,  and  1  felt  that  I 
could  say  anything  to  him  without  fear  of  misconstruction.  No 
portraits  of  him  or  of  President  Cannon,  in  books  or  magazines  or 
illustrated  papers,  do  either  of  them  justice.  Those  of  President 
Taylor  make  the  face  too  hard,  and  denude  it  of  all  that  is  gentle 
and  calm  and  handsome  in  it.  Those  of  President  Cannon  give  a 
twist  of  cunning   to   his   features,  which  I  could   not   find   in   his 

face.  ' 

I  do  not  think  that  justice  has  been  done  by  outsiders  to  the 
secular  aspects  of  Mormonism.     Due  account  has  not  been  taken  of 


^1 


•ih 


[I 


'■a 


50 


^•'OTES  OF  A  TRIP 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTORIA 


51 


the  social  advancement  which  has  come  to  the  poor  of  all  lands,  who 
have  come  to  Salt  Lake  to  the  church,  and  due  credit  lor  this  has  not 
been  given  to  the  church.  A  whU  runs  along  in  front  of  the  Lion 
House,  which  was  built  for  protection  from  thieves  and  Indians  in 
the  early  days  of  the  settlement.  But  for  this  wall  intervening,  ihe 
door  of  the  President's  room  would  open  directly  on  the  street.  All 
the  arrangements  are  of  the  utmost  simplicity,  and  so  as  to  make 
access  easy.  There  are  no  barriers,  nor  anything  nor  anybody  in  the 
way  of  easy  entrance  and  convenient  exit. 

The  President's  secretary  kindly  lecame  our  guide  to  Temple 
and  Tabernacle  for  a  closer  inspection  of  these  buildings.  In  the 
Tabernacle  we  stood  at  one  end  ;  at  the  other  end,  in  front  of  the 
organ,  a  gentleman  dropped  an  onlinary-sized,  common,  small  pin, 
and  we  heard  it  drop.  He  brushed  his  hand  over  the  covering  of 
the  crimson-covered  seats,  and  we  heard  that  also.  A  whisper  at  one 
end  can  be  heard  at  the  othe  and  one  or  two  of  our  party  tested 
that  likewise.  These  facts  attest  the  perfect  acoustic  properties  of 
the  Tabernacle.  We  were  taken  to  the  office  of  the  Deseret  Evening 
N'eios^  the  official  organ  of  the  cliurch.  We  missed  an  interview  with 
the  editor,  who  was  not  in  ;  but  we  met  the  assistant  editor,  a  man 
of  impressive  physique,  and  said  to  be  a  capable  speaker  and 
writer. 

At  4:30  p.  M.  we  leave  Salt  Lake  City  by  the  Utah  Central 
liailway  for  Ogden,  thirty-seven  miles  distant.  Twenty  miles  away 
from  the  city  we  come  alongside  Salt  Lake,  forty  by  ninety  miles  in 
extent,  and  at  an  altitude  of  4. "^18  feet.  We  run  alongside  of  it  for 
miles,  having  its  flat,  marshy-looking  shores  on  one  side,  and  the 
mountains  on  the  other.  Mormoji  settlements,  flourishing  and  fair 
to  see,  abound,  amid  trees  and  fresh,  pleasant  surroundings. 

Except  from  the  mouth  of  a  master  of  speech,  or  the  pen  of 
genius,  how  impotent  are  words  to  define  these  Western  scenes. 
Such  altitudes,  such  depths,  an  atmosphere  so  clear,  so  rarefied, 
such  radiance  of  sunlight,  night  coming  on  in  gorgeous  s.  sets, 
tintino-  the  horizon  with  ever-varvinjr  masses  of  untranf-i  ribable 
colors.  Then,  when  night  has  come,  the  moon  floods  the  heavens 
with  a  loveliness,  and  the  stars  light  it  with  a  splendor,  unobserved 
by  me  elsewhere.  To  these  succeed  the  splendid  surprise  of  morn- 
ing, when  the  sun  rises  in  his  strength,  and  rides  like  a  conqueror 
over  summits  white  with  age  and  snow. 

We  leave  Ogden  at  5:15  i*.  m.,  and  early  Wednesday  morniiig 
are    in    San    Francisco,    84'^   miles    from    Ogden.       Monday   night, 


08 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTORIA. 


53 


Tuesday  and  Tuesday  ni<rht  are  occupied  by  this  portion  of  our  trip. 
Even  after  leavinjr  Qgdeu,  and  wliile  speedinjr  on  the  journey  over 
the  Central  Pacific  Railway,  we  still  have  Salt  Lake  in  sijrht  for  some 
distance.  We  pass  a  night  camp  of  Chinese  track-men,  the  offense 
of  which  to  our  nostrils  was  rank.  We  are  on  high  table  land,  with 
mountains  around  us,  many  with  much  snow  on  them.  Tuesday  we 
are  passing  over  the  alkali  plains.  Wild  sage  is  their  chief  product. 
The  alkali  dust,  penetrating  everywhere,  and  powdering  us  all  over, 
is  an  unmitigated  nuisance.  Jack  rabbits  occasionally  appear; 
Indians  are  seen  riding  on  the  platforms  of  express  and  baggage  cars, 
and  papooses  strapped  to  their  mothers'  backs.  Here  and  there  this 
alkali  plain  and  sage  bush  desert  presents  the  charming  surprise  of 
little  dots  of  luxuriant  tropical  vegetation,  where  at  dining  or  other 
stations,  it  has  been  transformed  by  irrigation  and  cultivation.  Then, 
there  are  fountains  and  flowers  and  the  dense  shade  of  trees,  a 
delightful  oasis  in  an  otherwise  barren  land. 

Tuesday  night  we  i)ass  the  Sierras,  and  see  them  not.  We  also 
pass  through  thirty  miles  of  snow-sheds,  which  we  do  not  regret 
passing  at  night.  In  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  we  are  in 
Sacramento  City,  and  see  somewhat  of  the  attractive  Sacramento 
valley.  Soon  we  are  rniuiing  by  the  iidand  waters  of  the  Pacific, 
ami  now  are  at  Oakland,  cross  by  ferry  to  San  Francisco,  and 
take  up  our  temporary  al)ode  at  the  Palace  Hotel.  On  this  trip  I 
frequently  heard  the  word  "globe-trotters''  applied  to  travelers  who 
go  long  distances,  or  round  the  world.  The  inland  waters  of  the 
Pacific,  extending  back  from  San  Francisco,  are  extensive  uijh  to 
entithi  them  to  tiie  distinction  of  being  regarded  as  a  separate  eean. 
The  Palace  Hotel  is  seven  stories  high,  with  accommodations  for 
a  formidable  army.  Carriages  drive  under  cover  right  into  the 
centre  of  the  building  in  front  of  the  hotel  office.  From  the  galleries 
of  each  story  of  this  large  quadrangle  you  can  look  down  on 
tilt'  bustle  and  rush  of  numerotis  arrivals  and  departures.  Elevators 
convey  you  from  fl(>or  to  floor,  without  your  having  to  undergo  the 
labor  of  climbing  stairs. 

It  was  night  before  we  could  find  time  to  viail  tlie  Chinese 
quarter.  There  are  40,000  Chinese  in  San  Francisco,  most  of  whom 
are  packed  in  one  quarter.  The  sidewalks  were  crowded,  and  the 
interiors  were  litendly  packed.  This  quarter  of  the  city  is  entirely 
given  up  to  "the  heathen,"  and  we  might  just  as  well  be  in  the 
Oeh^stial  Empire  as  here. 

In  this  (|uarrer  we  saw  a   '  uilding  which  was  once  the  leading 


S4 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


hotel  in  San  Francisco.  It  is  so  no  more.  No  hotel  depending 
upon  the  patronage  of  the  general  public  can  exist  in  the  Chinese 
quarter.  The  general  public  would  not  locate  there  even  tempo- 
rarily. Nothing  tliat  esteems  itself  white  and  good  will  dwell  in  this 
Nazareth.  Chinese  merchants  can  pack  more  merchandise  and  crowd 
more  assistants  in  a  given  space  than  any  white  man  can  do.  We 
explored  one  store,  and  were  courteously  received.  Every  available 
niche  was  filled  up  with  merchandise,  or  had  "  a  pagan  "  jammed  in 
it,  busy  as  a  bee  over  books  or  correspondence.  We  visited  a  jos& 
house,  and  were  just  becoming  interested  in  the  explanations  and  the 
marvels  of  engraving  and  carving  which  adorned  it,  when  one  of  our 
party  was  overcome  with  the  odor  of  the  incense,  and  we  beat  an 
unceremonious  retreat. 

Our  next  viBit  was  to  a  tea-garden.  The  charge  for  a  cup  of  tea 
in  a  first-class  tea-garden  is  just  a  trifle  exorbitant  ;  but  then,  we 
were  notified,  the  moment  we  ordered  tea,  what  the  charge  would  be. 
This  is  a  refinement  of  fair  play  unusual  outside  of  paganism.  We 
quickly  discovered  that  we  had  ne\3r  tasted  tea  before.  It  is  a 
celestial  drink  as  made  by  "the  heathen  Chinee,"  and  a  much  finer 
article  of  tea  than  is  furnished  to  barbarians  through  the  usual 
channels  of  trade.  The  Mongolian  makes  it  in  a  way  of  his  own,  and 
the  art  of  making  tea  still  continues  to  be  a  monopoly  of  his. 

We  (lid  not  see  the  worst  of  this  Chinese  quarter.  That.  I  am 
told,  is  indescribable.  Opium  dens  abound,  and  smells  are  too 
pronounced  for  the  most  callous  nostrils.  If  plague  should  come, 
the  presence  of  this  unsavory,  closely  packed  crowd,  would  be  a 
menace  to  public  health.  I  was  afterward  taken  through  streets  of 
low  resort  which  m  guide  informed  me  were  more  dangerous  than 
any  in  the  Chinese  quarter.     Tiiese  were  occupied  by  French  outcasts. 

"  Frisco,"  as  the  people  of  the  far  West  delight  to  call  the  gi'eat 
city  of  the  Pacific  coast,  is  a  city  set  upon  several  hills  and  in  nu- 
merous valleys.  It  is  well  provided  with  large  and  elegant  hotels, 
and  beautiful  and  roomy  street  cars  run  everywhere.  The  street 
car  lines  are  run  by  underground  cable,  the  most  practicable  method 
wliere  such  heisi'hts  have  to  be  ascended.  I  have  not  seen  as  a'ood 
street  cars  in  any  other  city.  Flowers  grow  like  weeds  in  this 
"glorious  climate.'*' 

Friday,  August  8th.  We  left  Frisco  at  3:30  P.  M.,  for  Monterey, 
135  miles  distant.  We  pass  Belmont  and  Menlo  Park,  the  lovely 
Santa  Clara  valley,  and  its  metropolis,  San  Jose,  and  fields  in  which 
the  industrious  "Chinee"   is  gathering  up  all  the  fat  of  the  land. 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTORIA. 


55 


II 


66 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP  ' 


At  7:"25  I',  M.,  we  alight  at  a  pretty  little  station  in  a  land  of  flowers. 
The  Hotel  Del  Monte  is  close  at  hand,  "  in  a  grove  of  12G  acres  of 
oak,  pine,  spruce  and  cypress  trees,  and  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
of  the  beach."  In  the  large  hall  of  this  great  hotel,  i)i  a  fireplace 
of  generous  dimensions,  a  log  fire  was  blazing.  The  daintiest  rooms 
daintily  furnished  look  out  on  flower  gardens  which  realize  dreams  of 
fairy  land.  Seven  thousand  acres  of  land  are  held  in  connection  with 
this  hotel,  through  which  are  twenty-tive  miles  of  carriage  drives. 
We  were  told  that  we  ought  to  see  this  and  all  California  in  winter, 
when  flowers  and  everything  else  are  liner  than  in  summer.  It  is  a 
paradise  of  flowers  which  bloom  all  the  year  round. 

Saturda}-,  August  9th,  we  took  a  drive  of  many  miles,  through 
the  lovely  grounds  of  the  Hotel  del  Monte,  and  outside  of  them  to 
the  seashore,  past  a  large  bathing  house,  and  through  Monterey  and 
Pacific  Grove,  a  village  of  tents  and  seaside  residences,  a  famous 
bathing  resort  "  open  all  the  year  round,"  to  Cypress  Point.  Surely 
and  not  very  slowly  goes  on  the  progress  of  reclaiming  the  sandy 
wastes  on  the  seaside  of  Hotel  del  Monte,  and  turning  their  barren- 
ness into  trees  and  Howers. 

At  Monterey  we  see  the  hotel  at  which  Fremont  took  up  his 
quarters  after  his  trip  across  the  continent,  in  184G,  which  won  for 
him  the  title  of  "  the  Pathfinder,"  and  was  the  first  step  in  fame 
which  led  to  his  being  afterward  nominated  as  the  Republican  can- 
didate for  president.  With  thought  of  Fremont  comes  his  wife,  the  fa- 
mous daughter  of  a  famous  father.  Senator  Benton,  whose  statue  stands 
in  La  Fayette  Park,  St.  Louis,  who  was  one  of  the  earliest,  if  not  the 
earliest,  advocates  of  a  railroad  across  the  continent  to  the  Pacific. 
It  was  he  who,  in  reference  to  this  track  across  the  continent,  and 
pointing  westward,  said,  "  There  is  the  East  :  there  is  India." 

There  is — 

WHALING  AT  MONTEREY. 
Monttrey  ArriuK,  AiKjuafi. 

Tlic  wlmk'rs  shot  a  large  female  wliale  during  the  week  ;  but  she  sunk  in 
about  forty-five  fatiioms,  and  tliey  will  have  to  wait  for  lier  to  come  to  the  sur- 
face, whicli  will  take  ahout  three  days.  Siie  is  accompanied  by  her  calf,  which 
tliey  e.\iiect  to  capture.  Soon  after  sliooting  this  one,  they  espied  the  male, 
and,  giving  chase,  soon  sent  a  bomb  into  liis  body.  They  were  more  successful 
in  this  instance;  for  tlic  monster  made  for  the  bay,  and  towed  tlie  boats  a  con- 
siderable distance  toward  tlie  phiee  before  he  died.  This  one  was  more  con- 
siderate than  his  mate;  for  he  floated  when  life  was  extinct.  He  is  a  monster, 
measuring  over  eiglitj'  feet  in  lengtli.  and  is  linown  to  the  whalers  as  the 
"  sulpliur  bottom."     A  large   number  of  people  from   Monterey  and   Pacific 


1 


FliOif  CniCAOO  TO  VICTORIA. 


67 


rs, 
of 
lie 
ice 


Grove  visited  the  whalery  Thursday,  aud  sat  on  the  beach  watching  the  men 
remove  the  l)iul)ber.  They  expect  to  get  seventy  or  eighty  barrels  from  him. 
Tliis  is  one  of  the  largest  whales  ever  caught  in  this  section. 

In  Monterey  we  saw  also  the  old  Custom  House,  with  its  ancient 
flag-staflF,  on  which  the  flag-  of  the  United  States  was  first  floated  in 
California  when  the  latter  was  ceded  to  the  Union.  We  saw,  too, 
the  old  fort  and  barracks,  and  the  now  somewhat  wrecked  looking 
building  in  which  the  collective  wisdom  of  California  once  sat,  for 
Monterey  was  once  the  capital  of  this  State. 

In  1849,  when  Bayard  Taylor  was  here,  it  looked  to  him  at  first 
as  "a  deserted  town."  It  has  not  quite  lost  that  look  yet.  Then 
buildings  "  rented  for  §1,200  monthly,"  and  rooms  for  $200  monthly, 
and  "  a  lot  75  feet  by  25  feet,  with  a  small  frame  store  upon  it,  was 
sold  for  85,000.  A  one-story  house,  with  a  lot  about  50  by  75  feet, 
in  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  was  held  at  $6,000.  This  was  about 
the  average  rate  of  property."  Monterey  has  not  fulfilled  t^ie  hopes 
of  its  earK-  days,  when  it  was  assumed  to  have  advantages  which  San 
Francisco  had  not,  and  was  expected,  in  some  respects,  to  become  a 
rival  of  San  Francisco.  It  was  to  be  one  of  the  great  cities,  if  not 
t/ie  great  city,  of  the  Pacific  coast.  It  is  now  a  fishing  village  and 
a  pleasure  resort,  only  that,  and  nothing  more ;  but  it  has  the 
loveliest  site  in  the  world,  and  its  climatic  advantages  are  beyond 
question. 

By  the  roadside,  close  to  a  point  at  which  we  crossed  a  small 
stream,  there  was  a  wooden  cross  inscribed  "July  3, 1770."  We  are 
told  that  it  marks  the  spot  where  the  first  service  of  the  church  was 
performed  by  the  first  Jesuit  missionary.  At  Cypress  Point,  we  take 
in  a  long  sweep  of  Pacific  shore.  We  look  from  the  rock}'  height  on 
the  waters  of  the  Pacific  dashing  about  the  rocks,  and  sprinkling 
Pelican  Rock  with  its  spray.  Flocks  of  pelicans  cover  the  rocks,  and 
sail  above  the  waters  from  rock  to  rock.  Sea-lions  popped  up  their 
heads,  and  made  their  presence  known  audibly.  One  looked  inquir- 
ingly, and  I  think  had  it  in  his  mind  to  ask  us  of  his  relatives  which 
we  had  left  behind  us  in  Lincoln  Park,  Chicago,  not  far  from  our 
doorstep.  It  is  from  this  coast  the  sea-lions  are  recruited  for  this 
Chicago  park. 

Our  drive  lay  through  pine  forests  and  cypress  groves  of  intense, 
pleasing  and  healthful  odors.  The  high  winds  have  fiattened  these 
cypresses,  and  bent  and  twisted  and  battered  branches  and  leaves 
into  one  compact  mass  of  fantastic  forms.  The  shade  is  thick 
and  perfect.     California  lilac  and  wild  flowers  met  the  eye  every- 


pit; 


i 


68 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


8  '^ii 


.1 


1;  i:  Ifc 


FEO.V  OIIICAOO  TO  VICTORIA. 


59 


where.  Spanish  moss  lightly  veiled  trees.  We  had  pointed  out 
to  us  a  creeping  plant  known  as  "Poison  Oak,"  and  were  told 
fearful  tales  thereof.  To  some  persons,  to  touch  it  is  to  absorb 
its  poison.  Very  sensitive  persons  absorb  the  poison  by  merely 
passing  near  the  plant.  Our  driver  was  skeptical  as  to  this.  He 
held  that  the  wind  must  blow  something  of  it  against  any  passer-by 
in  any  case  in  which  the  latter  caught  the  poisonous  infection.  "  The 
fastest  train  on  the  Pacific  coast"  took  us  into  San  Francisco  in  time 
for  a  late  dinner. 

Sunday,  August  10th.  We  went  to  the  Cliff  House,  to  look  from 
its  veranda  on  the  rocky  shores  of  the  Pacific  far  below,  and  to  see 
one  of  the  great  sights  of  San  Francisco, — the  crowds  of  sea-lions 
disporting  in  the  water,  and  barking  at  nothing  in  particular.  The 
waters  were  alive  with  them,  and  the  rocks  which  were  not  preempted 
by  sea-gulls  were  covered  with  them.  They  look  their  prettiest  in 
the  water,  and  their  movements  are  swift  and  not  ungraceful.  They 
climb  upon  the  rocks  in  the  clumsiest  way,  and  waddle  down  them 
and  roll  off  them  clumsily  and  ludicrously.  When  they  lie  on  the 
rocks,  as  they  do  until  they  dry,  they  look  to  the  eye  as  so  many 
brown  skins  lying  drying  in  a  rather  eccentric  tannery.* 

We  diverged  to  a  fine,  large  park,  with  drives  and  romantic 
pathways,  and  an  endless  array  of  flowers  and  bedding  plants,  and 
shrubbery  and  trees,  and  wild  woods  and  greensward  of  the  gretMiest, 
kept  so  by  unwearied  sprinkling.  Frisco  empties  out  its  thousands 
on  Sundays  to  Oakland,  Alameda,  Cliff  House,  etc.  We  croshed  the 
bay  by  ferry  to  Oakland  to  visit  friends.  We  went  a  few  miles  by 
rail,  and  then  had  a  carriage  drive  of  many  miles  through  all  that 
pleasant  suburb  and  the  fair  land  that  lies  all  around  it.  Outside  of 
Oakland's  beautiful  streets  and  splendid  residences  inclosed  in  lovely 
grounds,  we  were  impressed  with  the  fruit  farms  and  the  wealth  and 
profusion  of  flowers.     Eucalyptus  trees  of  Australia,  beautiful   and 

*  The  following  is  from  a  Sim  Fnuicisco  (lispatcli  of  August  Mtli,  in  the 
Chicago  TrVmne  of  August  IGtli,  1885  :  "The  (luestion  of  the  destruction  of 
food  lish  in  tlie  harbor  1)}'  sea-lions  lias  been  discussed  very  often  in  connection 
with  the  diminution  of  the  supply.  An  etiort  is  now  being  made  to  secure  all 
the  evidence  obtainable  on  this  point.  Fish  (Commissioner  Kcdding  has 
appointed  a  commission  to  take  the  testimony  of  experts.  Should  the  report 
sustain  the  position  of  the  fishermen,  it  is  probable  that  the  law  forliidcling  the 
killing  of  sea-lions  will  be  repealed.  If  this  is  done  the  Seal  Rocks  of  the 
Cliff  House,  near  the  Golden  Gate,  one  of  the  most  famous  resorts  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  where  hundreds  of  seals  and  sea-lions  daily  bask  in  the  sun,  will 
soon  be  deprived  of  the  only  attractions  for  tourists." 


i 
i 


PI 
11 


60 


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.1 


I 


tall  and  straight,  abound.  They  are  said  to  preclude  malaria,  and 
are  cultivated  as  a  protection  to  luialth.  But  nothing  is  sale  from 
slander  and  detraction,  not  even  this  delight  of  the  eye  and  defense 
against  malaria,  and  I  read  in  a  newspaper  :  — 

THE  FALL  OF  AN  IDOL. 

The  eucalyptus  tree  lias  liithorto  been  in  favor  for  its  anti-malarial  prop- 
erties, which  are  especially  familiar  in  Aiistralia,  where  it  is  one  of  the  loftiest 
of  timlK-r  trees.  It  has,  liowever,  hUely  lost  favor  in  the  jirovince  of  San  Pedro, 
Brazil,  from  the  belief  that  it  stimulates  the  generation  of  a  jioisonous  dragon 
liy,  v.-hifh  attacks  all  livinu'  creatures,  to  -which  its  stinuj  is  fatal  in  a  few 
iniiuUcs.  Tiie  destruction  of  all  eucalyptus  trues  has  therefore  been  ordered 
in  San  Pedro. 

San  Pedro  may  have  a  demoralizing  atmosphere,  and  evil  com- 
munications may  have  there  corrupted  the  good  manners  of  the 
eucalyptus  tree  ;  but,  in  the  virtuous  soil  and  "  glorious  climate  of 
California,"  it  retains  its  pristine  qualities  and  the  good  opinion  of 
the  citizens,  adorns  the  landscape,  and  remains  a  thing  of  beauty. 
Redwood  is  largely  used  in  California  for  building.  Of  this  species  of 
"  Manmioth  California  Trees,"  the  Santa  Clara,  Cal.,  Jiepublicau  says  : 

A  ledwood  tree  cut  in  this  county  furnished  all  the  timber  for  the 
Ba])tist  Church  in  Santa  Rosa,  one  of  the  largest  church  edifices  in  the  county. 
The  inlerior  of  the  building  is  finished  in  wood,  there  being  no  plastered  walls. 
Sixty  thousand  shingles  were  made  from  the  tree  after  enough  was  taken  for 
the  church.  Another  redwood  tree,  cut  near  ]\Iur]ihy's  null,  in  this  count}', 
about  ten  years  ago,  furnished  shingles  that  retjuired  the  constant  labor  of  two 
industrious  men  for  two  years  before  the  tree  was  used  up. 

It  was  incessantly  dinned  in  our  ears,  that,  to  see  California 
aright,  we  ought  to  see  it  in  winter.  Then  there  would  be  no  fogs, 
the  mountains  would  be  green,  and  everything  fresher  and  fairer. 
Even  the  flowers  would  be  lovelier,  and  there  would  be  other  and 
finer  varieties  of  them.  At  Monterey  it  was  said,  Come  in  winter  if 
you  wish  to  see  Monterey  when  it  is  loveliest,  and  the  whole  land  at 
its  best.  What  a  land,  with  an  equable  atmo.sphere  and  flowers  all 
the  year  round. 

As  we  first  approached  Frisco  by  rail,  running  alongside  the 
inland  waters  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  we  had  noticed  grain  in  sacks 
piled  in  the  open  air,  without  any  protection.  At  the  extreme  ends  of 
long  wliarves  running  far  out  into  the  water,  it  was  similarly  piled.  At 
that  time  of  the  year,  there  was  no  danger  from  rain,  and  none  from 
winds  coming  to  ruffle  the  vasty  deep.  It  was  a  novelty  to  be  in  a 
land  of  such  absolute  certainty  as  to  visitations  of  wind  and  rain. 


FROM  ClIIVAGO  TO   VIUTOllIA.  61 

Monday,  August  lltli.  At  10  a.m.,  we  take  nassa.re  on  the 
gueen  ol  the  Pacific,  one  of  a  hno  of  steamers  runnini;-  between 
Frisco  and  Tacoma,  at  the  head  of  Pujret's  Sound,  via  Victoria, 
Vancouver's  Island,  British  Columbia.  Our  objective  point  was 
Portland,  Orepron,  and  our  original  plan  was  to  j^o  direct  by  steamer 
running  via  Columbia  river  ;  but  Ave  were  told  that  it  was  rough 
crossing  the  bar  at  tlie  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  that  the-  loute  via 
Victoria  would  take  but  a  day  longer,  that  the  steamers  were  finer, 
that  we  would  have  more  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  sights  of  greater 
interest,  and  we  were  persuaded. 

We  were  told  of  the  fine  view  of  Frisco  which  wo  would  have  while 
sailing  over  the  bay,  and  out  of  the  Golden  Gate  into  the  great  ocean 
beyond;  but  one  of  Frisco's  solid  fogs  came  down,  and  covered  all 
the  land,  and  bay,  and  sea,  and  our  view  was,  conscfjuently,  an 
extremely  limited  one.  We  see  the  defenses  being  erected  at  the 
narrow  passag(!  known  as  the  Golden  Gate.  The  shores  are  soon  hid 
by  log,  and  remain  hid  until  10  a.  m.,  next  day,  Tuesday,  August 
13th.  The  fog  blocks  our  view,  and  restricts  it  to  a  few  feet  of 
water.  At  last  it  clears  rapidly,  like  a  veil  lifted,  and  miles  of  sea 
sparkling  in  sunlight  are  revealeil.  The  sun  on  tiie  water  is  most 
dazzling.  The  shore  comes  out  into  sight.  At  starting,  it  was  rockv; 
now  it  seems  to  be  sand-hills,  with  higher  hills  behiiul.  Birds  of 
strong  wing,  pelicans  and  sea-gulls  are  following  us.  Numerous 
whales  come  in  sisjht:  but  we  nii^s  them. 

The  first  night  we  were  advised  to  lie  with  our  state-room  door 
open.  At  half  past  10,  electric  lights  in  state-rooms  are  extinguished. 
The  watchman  goes  his  steady  rounds  all  night.  Our  state-room 
faces  out  to  sea,  and  it  is  but  one  step  from  it  to  the  side  of  the 
steamer.  We  lie  with  the  Pacific  Ocean  at  our  sleeping-room  door, 
and  look  out  on  it  and  it  fogs,  and  listen  to  its  dashings,  which  have 
a  never-failing  charm  for  me.  Of  the  sound  of  ocean,  like  love  for 
the  beloved,  you  can  not  define  the  charm;  but  all  the  more  exqui- 
sitely you  feel  it.  The  Pacific  Ocean  is  not  always  as  pacific  as  its 
name  might  imply.  We  listened  to  terrible  stories  about  its  wiath 
from  old  voyagers  who  had  made  trips  to  and  from  China;  and  our 
experience  was  not  all  serene.  Monday  we  had  wind  and  fog;  Tues- 
day morning,  fog  again,  till  suddenly  it  lifted,  and  the  sun  shone  over 
miles  of  sparkling  water.  Then  the  ocean  became  as  smooth  as  a 
village  pond.  Tuesday  night  Ave  had  wind  and  rain.  Wednesday 
morning  it  Avas  squally,  but  there  Avas  no  sea  to  talk  about. 

Not  many  sail  Avere  seen.     Monday  and  Tuesday  we  saw  none; 


i 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


I; 
'I 


; 
I 

; 


Wednesday  we  saw  a  steamer  and  two  sailing  vessels.  We  kept  on 
the  lookout  for  whales,  and  on  Wednesday,  about  6  r.  M.,  were 
rewarded  by  seeing  thetn  in  an}-  number,  spouting  and  plunging  in 
all  directions,  on  all  sides  of  us,  near  and  far.  Where  sea  and  sky 
met,  we  saw  a  column  of  water  spouting  up  to  the  heavens  above, 
and  immediately  the  huge  figure  of  a  whale  was  outlined  on  the 
horizon. 

Much  attention  was  paid  to  the  comfort  of  passengers,  more  than 

I  had  ever  experienced  before.     The  captain  came  round  daily  about 

II  A.  >i.  to  inspect  and  inquire  if  all  was  right,  watchmen  inspected 
every  night  after  the  electric  light  was  extinguished,  and  waiter  and 
stewardess  were  round  between  0  and  7  a.  m.,  with  tea  or  coffee  and 
toast,  and  to  find  out  if  we  were  going  to  breakfast.  They  came 
round  after  everv  meal  to  find  out  if  we  had  been  at  it,  and  if  we 
wished  for  anything. 

Early  Thursday  morning,  August  14tii,  we  are  in  Victoria  harbor, 
having  accomplished  our  short  sea  voyage  of  about  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  miles.  A.  had  telegraphed  us  before  we  left  Frisco  that 
he  would  come  on  from  Portland,  and  meet  us  here.  I  was  speedily 
on  the  dock,  notwithstanding  a  mocking  intimation  that  I  need  not 
expect  him  at  that  hour,  and  I  surely  could  not  expect  that  he  would 
sit  up  all  night  waiting  our  arrival.  Teamsters  and  cabbies  in 
crowds  assailed  me ;  but  I  heeded  not  their  cry,  and  kept  steadily 
threading  my  way  past  them.  Soon  an  open  carriage  came  dashing 
swiftly  down  the  steep  road  to  the  dock.  It  clearly  had  a  mission, 
and  1  was  sure  that  it  was  to  me.  I  discerned  a  familiar  figure,  and 
soon  a  well-known  voice  said,  "  I  am  glad  you  have  come." 

Our  steamer  was  to  lie  there  until  noon,  and  then  go  on  its  way 
to  Tacoina;  but  A.  decided  that  I  had  business  to  which  to  attend, 
people  and  sights  to  see,  and  must  remain  all  day  in  Victoria,  and  go 
to  bed  at  night  in  the  steamer  Olympian,  of  the  Oregon  Railway  & 
Steam  Navigation  Company,  which  would  leave  early  next  morning 
for  Tacoma,  thus  enabling  me  to  make  the  whole  trip  from  Victoria 
in  dajdight. 

Vancouver's  Island  seemed  to  me  the  same  as  California,  except 
in  bustle  and  rush.  Victoria  seemed  a  city  in  Lotos  Land.  Nobody 
who  was  anybody  got  up  early  in  the  morning,  and  nobody  was  in  a 
hurry.  Even  the  newspapers  appeared  to  be  published  for  the  name 
of  the  thing,  and  not  for  any  news  which  they  contained.  They  were 
as  absolutely  devoid  of  news,  foreign  or  domestic,  as  perhaps  it  is 
permitted  to  a  newspaper  to   be.     There    was  nothing  sensaiional 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICrORM. 


08 


about  them  except  their  price,  which  was  ten  cents  a  paper.  That 
Victoria  can  digest  its  daily  press  and  survive  the  operation  speaks 
volumes  for  the  healthiness  of  its  climate.  The  deadness  and  dull- 
ness of  the  papers  transcend  description  and  baflle  conception. 

Vancouver  is  mountainous  and  beautiful,  yr'ith  rocky  and  wooded 
shores.  We  took  a  long  inland,  woodland,  rural  drive,  Our  drive 
included  the  Navy  Yard,  in  which  were  English  vessels  of  war,  and 
took  us  past  gardens  and  farms,  with  flowers  and  fruit,  which  seemed 
California  over  again.  The  (Miinese  excel  in  field  culture  here,  as 
they  do  everywhere.  We  drove  through  the  grounds,  and  past  the 
residence  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor.  In  the  grounds  a  convict 
gang  were  working  on  the  carriage  drive.  Splendor  and  squalor, 
rank  and  crime,  come  into  clos*^  contrast  in  all  lands.  We  stopped 
at  the  Driard  House,  an  unrivaled  hotel.  T  do  not  think  that  it  has 
its  superior  in  table  anywhere. 

Victoria  is  the  capital  of  British  Columbia,  which  is  one  of  the 
provinces  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  Like  the  province  of  Ontario,  it 
has  only  one  House  of  Parliament,  and  seems,  like  Ontario,  to  get 
along  with  one  house  just  as  well,  and  a  great  deal  cheaper,  if  not  a 
great  deal  better,  than  provinces  and  states  that  can  not  exist  without 
a  House  of  Representatives  and  a  Senate.  Why  the  people  should 
eli'Ct  u  House  of  Commons  and  a  Senate  to  check,  and  hold  in 
rein,  and  delay,  and  embarrass,  the  House  of  Commons,  is  one  of 
those  mysteries  which  can  only  be  solved  by  referring  it  to  the  wis- 
dom of  our  ancestors. 

The  government  buildings,  six  in  number,  are  built  of  brick,  are 
ornamental,  pretty,  and  rather  toyish  in  appearance.  In  the  House 
of  Representatives,  which  was  not  in  session,  there  were  twenty-five 
seats,  one  seat  in  excess  of  the  number  of  members.  On  the  edge  of 
the  government  grounds,  close  to  the  highway,  stands  a  granite  shaft 
on  a  granite  base,  with  this  inscription  : — 


Ekecteo  liv  THE  Peoi'LE  ok 

BlUTISH   COLUMIMA 
TO    TBE    MEMORY    OK 

Sm  James  Douglas,  K.  C.  R., 

GOVERNOK 
AND 

Commander  in  Chiek 

FUOM 

1851  TO  1864. 


64 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


t| 


What  is  fame?  Outside  of  British  Columbia,  who  has  heard  of 
this  famous  man  in  whose  honor  this  stately  column  lifts  its  lofty 
head  ? 

Victoria  h!.s  a  fine  location,  has  8,000  inhabitants,  and,  when  Par- 
liament is  in  session,  must  be  a  trifle  livelier  than  when  I  walked  its 
st"eets.     On  one  street  corner  there  was  a  sign  with  a  famous  name : — 


General 

Assortment  op 

Fancy  Goods. 


MRS.  SHAKESPEARE. 


Berlin 

AND  ZEl'HYn 

Wools. 


lis 


The  next  day  I  saw,  in  New  Tacoma,  a  reminder  of  Dickens  in 
the  name  of  the  "  Welier  House;"  and  later,  in  Portland,  1  had  a 
reminder  of  Thackeray  in  the  "  Esmond  House,"  at  which  I  put  up. 
I  am  sorry  to  say,  that  since  then,  this,  the  finest  hotel  in  Portland, 
has  been  totally  destroyed  by  tire. 

The  Canadian  government  had  a  commissioner  in  Victoria  hearing 
evidence  on  the  Chinese  ([uestion.  There  are  18,000  Chinese  in  British 
Columbia,  and  3,000  of  these  in  Victoria.  The  commissioner  elicited 
the  fact  that  the  low  Chinese  are  very  dirty  and  very  bad,  just  as 
dirt^  and  bad  as  low  white  people.  The  real  crime  of  "  the  heathen  " 
is  not  his  vice  and  his  dirt,  in  which  he  does  not  excel  white  outcasts, 
but  that  he  works  for  less  money,  and  can  live  upon  less,  than  a 
white  man.  The  real  question  to  be  determined  is:  Shall  he,  by  his 
cheap  labor,  drive  the  white  laborer  to  the  wall?  That  is  not  the 
way  the  politicians  state  it,  and  that  is  not  the  cry  raised  by  those 
who  yell  the  loudest  that  the  Chinese  must  go ;  but  it  is  tlie  exact 
position. 

It  is  not  a  question  of  vice,  or  disease,  or  opium  habits.  It  is  a 
question  of  whether  the  cheap  Mongolian  shall  replace  the  dear  Cau- 
casian,. It  is  a  question  of  race,  and  survival  of  the  fittest  and  best, 
and  must  be  met  and  dealt  with  in  that  way  some  day  This  Ciii- 
nese  question  is  a  burning  one  on  the  Pacific  coast;  but  hitiierto  there 
seems  to  have  been  some  hesitancy  in  dealing  with  it  plainly  and 
bluntly.  Everywhere  that  the  Chinaman  is  met,  he  confirms  what 
Bayard  Taylor  wrote  of  him  over  thirty  years  ago,  "  He  has  the  one 
virtue  of  industry,  and  his  cheap  habits  of  life  enable  hnn  to  get  a 
profit  out  of  bars  deserted  by  the  white  miners,  and  soil  scorned  by 
the  white  farmers." 

People  engaged  in  the  ordinary  avocations  of  life  go  everywhere 
nowadays.  Traveling  is  no  longer  the  exclusive  privilege  of  the 
rich  or  adventurous,  or  those  having  ample  leisure.     It  is  undertaken 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTORIA. 


65 


for  pleasure,  for  ini'orinatioii,  for  business  ;  by  the  busy,  the  over- 
worked, the  most  inadventurous.  An  excursion  to  Alaska  had 
passed  a  few  days  before  my  advent  in  Victoria.  It  left  Portland. 
Oregon,  about  the  first  of  August  ;  and  it  was  calculated  that 
the  trip  from  Portland  to  Alaska  and  return,  giving  sufficient  time  for 
sight-seeing,  would  take  but  twenty-one  days.  The  fare  was  only  $95. 
About  one  hundred  people  took  advantage  of  this  excursion,  seventy- 
five  of  whom  were  schoo!  teachers  spending  their  vacation.  They 
had  been  in  attendance  at  the  National  Convention  of  Teachers  held 
in  Madison,  Wisconsin.  After  the  convention  adjourned,  the 
teachers  scattered  in  all  directions  on  pleasure  trips  before  returning 
to  their  homes. 

I  had  looked  upon  Alaska  as  being  almost  inaccessible,  and 
waked  up  to  find  it  an  ordinary  pleasure  resort,  to  which  you 
can  buy  cheap  roiind-trip  tickets,  just  as  you  can  buy  them  to 
any  other  pleasure  resort.  This  is  one  result  of  the  building  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and  its  being  officered  and  operated  by 
wide-awake  citizens,  who  omit  no  chance  to  open  new  avenues 
of  travel  and  develop  new  sources  of  traffic.  Excursions  to  the 
Yellowstone   National  Park  and  to  Alaska  are  of  their  invention. 

Some  of  these  teachers,  Alaska  excursionists,  on  their  return  trip 
overtook  me  at  the  Dalles,  Oregon,  and  I  found  out  from  them  that 
our  received  ideas  about  Alaska  stand  in  need  of  considerable 
revision.  They  were  so  charmed  with  their  trip  that  they  laid  plans 
at  once  for  another  one  in  1885. 

Just  before  1  left  home  I  had  a  letter  from  .rerusalem,  insisting 
that  T  must  go  there  ;  and  I  was  told  by  another  friend  to  consider 
myself  under  contract  to  visit  the  Yellowstone  region  within  a 
reasonable  period.  On  my  way  west,  I  received  a  telegram 
reminding  me  that  I  had  agreed  whenever  called  upon  to  make  a 
trip  to  Mexico.  If  that  Alaska  excursion  had  not  gone,  I  should 
have  been  strongly  tempted  to  join  it.  When  we  first  set  out  from 
Chicago,  we  had  about  determined  not  to  go  west  of  Colorado, — at 
any  rate  not  to  go  beyond  Salt  Lake  ;  but,  by  taking  advice 
and  yielding  to  persuasion,  we  found  ourselves  at  last  in  Victoria, 
the  farthest  point  at  which  we  touched. 

Friday,  Au^j-ust  loth.  Last  night  we  occupied  state-rooms 
on  the  steamer  "  Olympian,"  and,  before  going  to  bed,  I  had  a  moon- 
light view  of  the  bay  in  which  our  steamer  lay.  I  was  up  between 
4  and  .")  •  but,  before  I  could  get  washed  and  dressed,  the  st«-ainer 
got  under  way,  and  so  rapidly  that  we  were  out  of  the  harbor  before 


ilJ 


66 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


i^ 


I  could  p-.^t  on  deck.  In  about  two  hours  we  had  steamed  across  the 
straits,  wliich  were  calm  and  smooth  as  a  pond,  the  beautifully 
wood(^d  shores  of  Vancouver  were  receding  from  view,  and  we  were 
in  Pujret's  Sound,  "  the  Mediterranean  of  tlie  Northwest."  The 
snowy  head  of  lofty  Mount  Baker  was  just  visible  through  a  rift  in 
fleecy  clouds. 

Our  first  stop  was  at  Port  Townsend,  "Washington  Territory,  a 
fine  location,  with  business  houses  and  hotels  on  the  shore  close  to 
the  water,  and  'residences  on  the  highlands,  which  rise  steep  and 
abrupt  from  the  narrow  strip  of  land  at  tlieir  feet  between  them  and 
this  inland  sea.  From  the  mouth  to  the  head  of  the  sound  at 
Tacoma,  W.  T.,  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  There  was 
everywhere  ample  breadth,  which  sometimes  counted  by  miles.  It 
was  novel  to  me  to  find  myself  on  this  great  inland  salt-water  sea, 
hemmed  in  by  lofty  and  beautifully  wooded  mountains  and  highlands; 
and  I  remained  on  deck  all  day  except  during  dinner,  enjovino-  the 
varied  scenes  which  presented  themselves  in  one  long  and  enchantino- 
panorama.  The  reflected  rays  of  the  sun  had  given  my  face  the 
dark  red  tint  of  the  Indian  before  I  reached  Tacoma.  ])inner  was 
considerately  served  in  a  saloon,  the  windows  of  Avhich  commanded 
both  sides  of  our  course,  and  the  way  by  which  we  had  oouie,  so 
that  no  sight-seeing  was  lost  to  us.  Of  constant  recurrence  were 
immense  outlets  on  each  side  of  us,  stretching  away  we  knew  not 
how  far,  and  as  broad  or  broader  than  that  in  which  we  were  plow- 


ing; our  wav. 


Of  picturesque  places  on  the  sound,  where  all  were  picturesque, 
Seattle,  W.  T.,  was  the  most  prominent;  rising  from  the  water,  ex- 
tending right  back  on  the  hills,  showing  to  the  utmost  advantage  its 
charming  residences,  and  fine  business  blocks,  and  public  buildings, 
and,  most  to  its  credit,  largest  and  most  striking,  its  public  schools 
and  university  buildings,  splendid  and  imposing.  Nothing  in  the 
place  was  cjuite  as  good  as  these  hulls  of  learning,  and  it  is  needless 
to  say  that  Seattle  commanded  at  once  unhesitating  respect. 

We  had  two  or  three  hours  of  daylight  left  when  we  reached  New 
Tacoma,  \Y.  T.,  at  the  head  of  navigation  and  the  sound.  We  took 
rooms  at  "  The  Tacoma,"  an  imposing  palatial  structure,  splenilidly 
furnished,  and  in  grounds  tastefully  laid  out.  It  stands,  as  nearly 
all  New  Tacoma  stands,  high  above  the  sound;  and  the  best  views  of 
the  city  and  surrounding  country  can  be  obtained  from  it.  Beyond 
all  comparison,  it  is  the  largest  and  best  building  in  the  place,  and 
is  one  of  the  most  comfortable  hotels  in  the  coinitry.     It  was  built 


MUM 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTORIA. 


67 


and  is  maintained  to  popularize  New  Tacoma,  and  was  not  expected 
to  pay;  but  it  does  pay.  New  Tacoma  is  perhaps  the  foremost  city 
on  the  sound.  Old  Tacoma  is  over  the  hills,  in  another  bay.  But  the 
two  places  are  gradually  nearing  each  other,  and  have  been  incor- 
porated as  one  city. 

As  we  drove  over  to  Old  Tacoma,  Saturday,  August  IGth,  we 
found  workmen  cutting  away  and  burning  the  forest,  and  improving 
the  communications  by  road,  leveling  and  straightening  it  out.  The 
road  stood  in  need  of  widening.  There  was  no  room  to  pass,  except 
at  special  points  ;  and  we  had  to  stop  till  a  team  got  out  of  our  way, 
and  sometimes  we  had  to  keep  others  waiting  in  the  same  way  for  us. 
These  passing  points  were  utilized  by  teamsters  for  purposes  of 
gossip,  and  we  were  kept  waiting  at  one  point  till  two  who  were 
ahead  of  us  had  exchanged  news  with  each  other  and  departed 
on  their  separate  ways.  There  is  a  large  -ivaste  of  timber  going 
on  in  this  country,  where  much  is  burnt  merely  to  get  it  out  of 
the  way. 

The  most  noticeable  thing  in  Old  Tacoma  was  the  bell  tower  of 
the  Episcopal  Church.  It  is  simply  a  tree  with  the  top  sawn  off  even, 
and  the  bell  fixed  thereon.  The  Episcopal  Church  is  a  shanty  adorned 
with  a  cross.  The  {esthetic  fever  has  reached  New  Tacoma,  and  we 
saw  several  "dude"  houses  pleasantly  diversifying  the  ordinary 
sameness  of  city  architecture.  Mr.  C.  B.  Wright,  of  Philadelphia, 
has  given  ^^5(  1,000  is  an  c  idownient  fr.nd  to  the  Annie  Wright 
Seminary  for  Young  Ladies,  a  large  t'lree-story  building  which  he 
has  erected  in  New  Tacoma.  Next  to  "The  Tacoma,"  this  seminary 
is  the  best  building  in  the  place.  It  is  named  after  a  daughter  of 
Mr.  Wright.  He  has  also  erected,  at  his  own  expense,  an  Ej)isoopal 
church,  which  has  cost  him  8^*5,000  ;  and  he  has  projected  an 
educational  institution  for  young  niei.,  which  he  will  endow  with 
$50,000.  He  is,  I  believe,  interested  in  "Tln^  Tacoma,"  and  other 
city  property,  as  well  as  in  the  railways  here,  and  is  fully  dis- 
charging, witli  lavish  hand,  all  tlie  duties  which  property  owes  to 
a  community. 

New  Tacoma  is  well  provided  with  schools.  An  election  was  in 
progress  while  I  was  there.  In  the  Third  Ward  four  names  of 
ladies  headed  four  gentlemen  on  the  nomination  ticket.  This  was 
probably  reversed  when  election  day  came.  Extensive  fires  had 
swept  away  blocks,  and  much  building  was  going  on.  Iron  foun- 
dries, at  an  expense  of  -^2,000,000,  are  to  be  established,  and  to  give 
enijjloymcnt  to  ^,000  people. 


i 


I 


m 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


The  veranda  of  "  The  Tacoma"  looks  down  upon  the  head-waters 
of  the  inland  sea- waters,  which  here  lose  themselves  in  shallow 
grass  and  marsh.  I  sat  lor  an  hour  or  more  looking  down  upon  this 
farthest  advance  inland  of  those  Pacific  floods,  and  at  the  opposite 
shore,  wooded  ;ind  hilly  ;  at  the  Indian  mission  and  school  in  the 
distance  ;  at  Mount  Tacoma,  formerly  Mount  Rainier,  about  sixty- 
seven  miles  away,  14,300  feet  high,  forty  miles  in  circumference  at 
its  base,  and  with  a  superficial  area  of  1,G00  miles.  Thick  clouds 
wrapped  all  of  it  except  its  head  and  l)ase,  and  there  was  more 
snow  upon  it  than  on  any  mountain  which  I  have  seen.  In  the 
intervening  woods,  near  the  city,  lies  an  enchanted  land  of  drives 
and  lakehits. 

While  1  sat,  a  young  bear  belonging  to  the  hotel  grounds  began 
to  climb  the  veranda  steps,  possibly  with  the  intention  of  opening 
social  relations  with  me.  He  was  not  a  bear  of  determined  cluuacter, 
but  was  rather  hesitating.  He  deliberated  at  every  step,  debating 
every  move.  About  half  way  up  he  took  a  vote  and  decided 
to  return.  At  the  foot  he  reconsidered  the  motion,  turned  his  face 
upward,  raised  his  paws  on  the  first  step,  took  them  down  again  to 
think  it  over  another  time,  pondered  profoundly  and  heavily, 
scratched  his  head  and  clawed  out  an  idea,  and  turned  and  departed. 
Afterward  he  came  again  a  few  times,  but  could  never  make  up  his 
mind  what  course  to  take  :  he  was  a  bear  of  a  very  undecided  turn 
of  mind.     I  did  not  care  for  his  company  anyway. 

Mr.  xVckley,  fc^rnierly  of  North  Shields,  now  employed  on  a  city 
paper  here,  called,  and  introduced  himself  as  a  Northumbrian,  I  had 
a  most  pleasant  interview  with  him.  He  knew  many  known  to  me  in 
Newcastle-upon-Tyne  and  the  North  of  England. 

New  Tacoma  has  a  Chinese  quarter  with  a  population  of  about 
five  hundred. 

Saturday,  August  IGth,  at  G  p.  m.,  we  leave  Tacoma  by  train. 
We  go  105  miles  by  rail,  and  at  11  p.  >r.,  at  Kalama,  we  take  the 
steamer,  and  do  the  remaining  thirty-eight  miles  by  river.  We  are 
in  Portland  early  next  morning,  Sunday,  August  17th. 

Portland  has  a  population  of  40,000,  of  which  10,000  are  Chinese; 
it  has  "go"  enough  in  it  for  a  city  of  twic(i  its  population.  Its 
traffic  by  rail  and  river  is  very  huge.  East  Portland,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Willamette,  is  a  considerable  place.  Twelve 
miles  onward  is  the  junction  of  the  Willamette  ami  Columbia  rivers, 
the  latter  being  the  "  Oregon "  of  old  writers.  Seventy  years  ago 
Bryant  wrote, — 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTOIiTA. 


69 


I 


70 


HOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


"Take  the  wings 
Of  niorniiig,  traverse  B'lvca's  desert  sands, 
{,)r  lose  thyself  in  the  continuous  woods 
AVliere  rolls  tl'.e  Oregon,  aud  hears  no  sound 
Save  his  own  dashiugs." 

These  lines  are  the  perfect  expression  of  complete  solitude,  and 
they  have  always  invested  the  Oregon  to  me  with  all  the  hues 
of  romance.  They  clung  to  my  memory,  and  would  not  let  me 
forget  them,  nor  the  mighty  stream  they  celebrated,  and  there  came 
a  haunting  wish  to  see  it.  Since  the  poet  wrote,  change  has  come  to 
the  Coluiubia,  and  fleets  sweep  over  it,  and  trains  rush  along  its  shores, 
which  are  lined  with  farms  and  villages  and  salmon  canneries,  and  at 
its  mouth  Astoria  stands  sentry.  , 

Monday,  August  18th,  I  devote  to  business  and  other  visits,  and 
drives  in  Portland,  its  parks  and  suburbs.  Splendid,  substantial, 
solid  business  blocks  and  beautiful  residences  abound.  For  a  city  of 
its  size  it  has  an  amazing  number  of  fine  private  residences.  There 
was  one  fi^3  street,  palatial  and  pleasing.  There  live  the  pioneers, 
all  in  a  row.  They  ''  came  here  in  the  forties,"  said  my  informant, 
and  they  sat  still  and  grew  rich  because  they  couldn't  help  it.  They 
had  the  land,  and  in  the  heart  of  this  city  it  became  valuable. 

The  drive  to  the  City  Park  was  like  the  ascents  on  the  Denver 
&  Rio  Grande  Railroad;  we  went  up  and  up,  and  round  and  round, 
track  above  track,  until  we  attained  the  highest  point  in  the  park, 
from  whence  we  looked  down  upon  Portland  and  wide  spaces  of 
landscape.  Up  a  glorious  ravine,  and  by  roads  like  the  road  to  the 
park,  v;e  drove  out  to  the  beautiful  residence  and  grounds  of  hos- 
pitable Mr.  Schultze,  the  Land  Commissioner  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad.  Forest  fires  away  in  the  distance  obscured  the  land,  and 
preventtMl  us  from  seeing  all  that  we  had  bean  led  to  expect  to  see 
from  this  eminence.  Mount  Hood,  the  lion  of  the  land,  was  not 
visible.  It  was  the  only  famous  mountain  on  our  whole  trip  which 
declined  to  be  at  home  to  us. 

In  the  city  we  passed  what  had  once  been  a  barren,  stony  ravine; 
but  the  industrious  Chinaman  has  transformed  it  into  a  fruitful 
garden.  At  night  we  went  to  the  Chinese  theatre.  The  streets 
around  it  swar  ned  with  Chinese;  they  were  like  ants  on  an  ant 
hill.  The  theatre  was  crammed  to  suffocation ;  there  was  not  even 
standing  room  left.  A  box  had  been  reserved  for  us.  The  boxes 
next  to  us  were  filled  with  Ch  ese  women  of  the  only  class,  with 
rare  exceptions,  imported  into  this  country.     They  were  as  (juiet  and 


, 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  VICTORIA. 


71 


undemonstrative  as  if  tiiey  had  not  been  outcasts.  The  audience 
were  all  very  tjuiet, — ahnost  stolid.  They  enjoyed  themselves  seri- 
ously ;  scarcely  a  smile  illuminated  a  countenance.  There  was 
more  stir  over  something  unknown  to  me  which  occurred  in  the 
audience  than  over  anything  going  forward  on  the  stage.  There 
was  a  good  deal  of  smoking,  and  fruits  and  candies  wer(>  trafBcked 
round. 

The  seats  and  boxes  were  of  common  wood,  and  a  very  few  strips  of 
Chinese  patterns,  and  a  few  Chinese  inscriptions,  were  the  sum  total 
of  any  decorations.  The  stage  was  an  open  platform,  at  each  end 
of  which  there  was  a  packed  audience,  through  which  the  actors  had 
to  force  their  way  out.  There  were  three  or  four  seats,  and  no  more 
stage  scenery  than  would  furnish  forth  a  Punch  and  .fudy  show. 
An  indescribable  orchestra  sat  at  the  rear  of  the  stage,  eternally 
assisting,  and  emphasizing  points  most  noisily.  Stage  clears:  orches- 
tra clatters  and  deafens.  Actors  enter:  orchestra  clatters  and  deaf- 
ens. Actors  enter  and  make  their  exit  at  curtained  entrances  at  the 
back  of  the  stage  on  each  side  of  the  orchestra.  They  came  in  at  the 
right  of  the  orchestra,  and  made  their  exit  at  the  left  of  the  orches- 
tra. I  was  told  that  an  actor  having  to  feio-n  death  lies  awhile  on 
the  stage,  and  then  gets  up  and  walks  out. 

The  only  scenery  I  saw  used  was  something  like  a  pulpit,  but  not 
as  large.  Slight  changes  were  made  in  it,  and  the  actors  also  made 
slight  changes  on  the  platform  during  the  action  of  the  })lay.  Except 
the  few  chairs,  however,  not  much  use  was  made  of  scenery,  if  that 
which  was  used  can  be  dignified  by  that  name.  There  were  a  few 
gorgeous  costumes  ;  masks  also  were  used,  and  fiends  were  made 
as  uncanny  as  paper  and  paint  coidd  make  them. 

No  females  perform  on  the  Chinese  stage,  and  horrid  males 
painted  an  inch  thick  took  the  female  parts.  The  singing  consisted 
of  a  poor,  rasping  chant,  screeching,  screaming  and  howling,  and 
had  less  of  music  in  it  than  ordinary  speech.  There  was  a  circular 
hole  at  the  back  of  the  stage,  high  above  the  orchestra,  and  that 
appeared  to  be  utilized  by  spectators.  Chinese  plays  last  for  days 
and  weeks.  We  contented  ourselves  with  a  small  section  of  one. 
When  we  came  outside  late  the  streets  were  still  jammed  with 
heathen.  I  do  not  know  how  long  the  theatre  remains  o|)en, — 
perhaps  it  never  closes, — nor  when  the  heathen  sleep, — perhaps  they 
keep  awake  always.     They  swarm  on  the  streets  at  all  hours. 

Next  day,  Tuesday,  August  19th,  after  business,  I  visited  art  gal- 
leries and  studios,  and  saw  marvelous  etfects  in  color,  and  wonderful 


FROM  fine  AGO  TO  VICTORIA. 


78 


transcripts  of  wonderful  scenery.  Colonel  Toui  Mimtv,  of  the  Port- 
land Oregonian,  did  me  tlie  service  to  exj)lain  these  monster  mount- 
ain scenes  and  river  scenes,  which  he  did  with  clearness  and  facility, 
having  lived  among  them,  camped  beside  them,  and  faced  them  for 
months  at  a  time.  Mr.  Stuart,  whose  studio  I  visited,  had  his  right 
arm  in  a  sling.  He  got  it  broken,  having  sli|)ped  on  a  glacier  on  one 
of  the  mountains  a  distance  of  '/iOO  yards  before  he  recovered  himself. 

Wednesday,  August  20th,  at  I  a.  sr.,  we  leave  on  a  steamer  for 
The  Dalles.  This  is  the  commencement  of  a  continuous  journey  from 
Portland  to  St.  Paul,  1,912  miles,  which  is  to  last  up  to  the  afternoon 
of  Sunday,  August  24th.  We  might  have  gone  by  rail  from  Port- 
land ;  but  wo  preferred  the  steamer  trip  of  one  day  on  the  Willamette 
and  Columbia  rivers.  At  The  Dalles  we  had  time  for  supper  before 
the  train,  which  left  at  11:40  a.  m.,  overtook  us.  We  had  engaged 
sl('ej)ing  berths  on  the  train,  and,  when  it  overtook  us,  we  had  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  step  on  board  and  take  our  assigned  places.  The 
Willamette  looked  spacious  enough  to  fill  the  full  measure  of  the 
description  of  the  Columbia.  The  conjunction  of  the  two  rivers 
deserved  the  title  of  a  lake. 

,  The  Columbia,  what  we  saw  of  it  on  this  day's  trip,  was  simply 
an  immense  canon  filled  by  a  correspondingly  immense  river.  Fog 
and  forest  fires  limited  our  sio-lit-seeinj>:  ;  mountains  make  our 
shores.  Among  the  marvels  of  the  rocky  shores  were  Rooster  Rock, 
Castle  Rock,  grotesque  figures  like  sentries;  palisades  of  varied  kinds, 
high  and  low;  at  some  points  a  perfect  wall  slanting  away  from  the 
water,  producing  fine  effects  with  the  aid  of  sun  and  mist,  or  sunset; 
Multnomah  Falls,  and  cascades  like  Niagara  river  above  Niagara 
Falls.  Curious  rocks  popped  up  here  and  there  in  this  wonderful 
stream.  Evidently  these  once  had  been  one  ;  but  the  water  had 
washed  them  apart.  Rocky  cones  were  numerous.  The  water  had 
cut  its  way  through  the  rocks.  This  was  especially  the  case  east  of 
The  Dalles,  where  the  river  dashed  through  many  curious  rocky 
channels  which  it  had  cut  for  itself. 

The  trip  from  Portland  to  The  Dalles  was  made  by  steamer  to 
the  Cascades;  then  we  took  a  train  for  a  few  miles  past  the  Cascades; 
and  then  took  another  steamer  for  The  Dalles,  from  whence  we  made 
the  remainder  of  our  trip  to  St.  Paul  by  train.  We  passed  large 
canneries,  where  salmon  are  canned,  and  saw  the  simple  method  of 
catching"  salmon  wholesale. 

After  leaving  The  Dalles,  and  just  before  nightfall,  we  passed  an 
Indian  village,  or  encampment,  close  to  the  river.     An  Indian  girl 


,!     I| 


74 


NOTES  OF  A  TRIP 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO   VI<'T0R1A. 


75 


was  picking  her  way  alonir  the  short';  an  riuliaii  man  and  boy, 
mounted  on  one  liorse,  jojrgcil  indoh-ntly  along;  an  Indian  woman 
was  rowing  in  a  boat,  and  her  "  noble,"  melancholy  red  man  sat  at 
his  ease  therein.  One  Indian  hut  stood  close  to  the  river's  edge,  con- 
venient for  fishing,  and  subject  to  prompt  change  of  base  if  the  river 
should  rise;  and  rivers  out  here  are  troubled  tliat  way.  Some  of  tlie 
beds  were  outside  of  all  sli  Iter,  with  .mly  the  sky  for  a  canopy. 
Indians  of  all  age  and  sexe^  were  spiawling  in  all  directions  and 
attitudes,  none  of  the  latter  graceful  or  picturesijue,  and  some  not 
quite  decent.  Old  female  Indians  were  withered,  shriveled  and 
ugly.  Dirt  and  S(|ualor!  The  noble  red  man?  Oh,  no!  The  dirty, 
lazy,  thieving  red  man,  devoid  of  all  romance  or  grace,  yet  not  quite 
d'void  of  interest,  because  he  continues  to  be  considi  :  .ible  of  a 
nuisance  and  obstruction. 

Jt  were  too  long  to  tell  of  rivers,  lakes  and  mountains  with  which 
we  made  accjuaintance;  of  inunense  gorges  through  which  we  ;ind 
the  rivers  ran,  rivers  which  we  cross  and  recross,  and  lose  and  tind 
again  endlessly.  From  our  iimer  consciousness  we  evolve  how  a 
town  is  made.  It  is  done  by  cutting  down  a  few  trees,  and  burning 
a  few  more,  thus  clearing  a  space  in  the  woods  sufficient  for  a  few 
tents  and  wooden  houses,  then  shooting  somebody  to  start  a  ceme- 
tery, and  the  thing  is  done. 

In  one  new  town  we  saw  an  hotel.  It  bore  the  siirn  of  "  Palace 
Hotel,"  and  promised  frosh  bread  and  beds.  It  was  a  loiv,,  wooden 
shanty  of  one  room,  with  a  "  wash-room  "  at  one  side  of  it.  Tn- 
ferentially  we  came  to  the  conclusion,  that,  after  supper  is  served 
every  evening,  and  the  tables  cleared,  beds  are  then  made  up  on  the 
tables  ;  and  any  high-toned,  gilt-edged,  kid-gloved  guest,  who  is 
very  particular  and  exclusive,  can  have  a  lable  to  himself  on  payment 
of  extra  charge.  Indians  and  Chinese  al)ound  on  this  route  ;  the 
latter  were  imported  to  build  the  railroad,  and  remained  to  j)rey. 
We  passed  a  graveyard  with  memorials  erected  by  vigilants  to  those 
whom  they  had  rooted  out.  It  was  but  yesterday,  so  to  speak,  and 
that  state  of  society  has  passed  away  so  quickly  that  it  will  be  myth 
to-morrow.     Change  comes  so  fast  in  new  lands. 

We  passed  a  mountain  on  tire  ;  it  was  more  a  blaze  of  weeds  and 
grass  than  trees.  The  crossing  of  lake  Pend  d'Oreille  on  the  railway 
was  fine,  and  the  scenery  on  the  whole  route  was  marvelous.  It  is 
well  named  "  Wonderland"  in  books  which  treat  of  it. 

Night  and  darkness  reigned  when  we  crossed  the  M'Gsouri ;  but 
we  got  out  on  the  rear  platform  of  the  car  to  strain  our  eyes  to  pierce 


7(i 


NOTES  OF  A  TlilP 


Lake  PenH  d'Oreille. 


FllOM  C 


:iiicAuo  TO  vwroniA. 


,.^'r--<- 


.«*•>• 


.1.  ..'Wiv-,-. 


11 


.''\ 

.-i'- 


through  the  aark,  to 
the  ^vaters  which 
have    still    3,0  00 
unles  to   so  before 
they  reach  the  sea. 
Above   the   bridge, 
the  Missouri  and  its 
affluents  have  2,000 

miles   of   navigable 

^,  ,„.e„  -'-^^ZXC  10.000  .awe.  v.>^   - 

o„etotlimy         ,  ,^,.i,  inllnite  variety.  .,  ofith  we  reroainea 

„,a  never  t.rea  of   hu       ^^^    ^^ ^,^,^^,„  ^"^    t"  Vo.t  Snelliug 

i„  S,  ra>.>,  -''  *!=  "rr'\v  ■  "  Say'.or„„>,  «  were  u,  U  ■ 
:„d  *eFa.UoOI.n-  ah-    ;^^^„^  „,  G,.UO  .nlles  a-.^     -    , ^^^ 
eago,  after  oav  tb.rty-four  day  ^^^  .^^^^  "'"^..'r  to  State 

"•'  -'  '"""  ''rrV,  ^aVtate^,  not  inCuVug  lU-.o.s, 
,„d  Tcrritone.  of  the  U  ^^.^^_  ^^.^  ^^,^„.„,d. 

(rom  which  we  Btartea,  anu 


»l 


Ji 


